The Enigma drops in on Lilac City Tattoo Expo

If you were to see him in a dark alley, you’d probably high-tail it in another direction – or, if you caught the episode of “The X-Files” where he played a character called The Conundrum, you might pause to ask for his autograph before high-tailing it in another direction.

Either way, he is a curious sight. Literally a puzzle, he is The Enigma and he will be here this weekend for the third annual Lilac City Tattoo Expo.

More than 100 tattoo artists from the East Coast to the West (and a few piercers) will be in attendance at the Spokane Convention Center, along with entertainers including The Enigma’s ShowDevils.

Tattooed from head to toe in blue puzzle pieces, The Enigma is also adorned with horns, facial piercings and other body modifications.

His desire to entertain began as a child in Seattle. He took lessons in dance, singing, piano and flute. At 15 he stumbled upon a sideshow.

“I decided then and there that I would give my life to swallowing swords,” he said by telephone. “This was the stuff of superheroes because here was real magic. When everyone believes one thing and you show them another, the truth appears as magic.”

Enthralled by the superheroes he saw in comic books, he came to the realization that, while he couldn’t fly, he could swallow swords and perform other death-defying acts. And well, heck, why not be blue?

More than 200 tattoo artists from as far away as Africa and Switzerland had a hand in his transformation.

“It’s about identity and freedom and, in America, that’s what we celebrate,” he said. “In our society, a logical A to Z pattern is followed and that can be terminal.”

The Enigma believes that imagination, passion, and individuality are the cures.

He brings his “cure” to events all over the world in a house on wheels, decorated with sponsors’ names.

He travels with Serana Rose and together, reminiscent of circus sideshows and freak shows of the past, they perform feats that would make the contents of a sensitive stomach head for the mouth, feats that include chainsaws, the insertion of spikes, electrocution and the eating of light bulbs.

“Just a light snack,” Enigma says.

ShowDevils, a little more theatrical than “daredevils,” will hit the Convention Center stage on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Other entertainers include local belly dancer Shaheena Safari with her troupe; pole dancing demonstrations by the Goddess Arts Academy of Spokane; people suspending from their body piercings; Art Fusion, which entails four artists doing live drawing demonstrations; and, of course, tattoo contests in many categories, because tattoos are what the show is all about.

The participating tattoo artists were hand-picked by co-promoters and cousins Carey Cady of Spokane and Shawn Willmorth, who runs a tattoo shop in Moses Lake called the Hive. Both have been tattoo artists for many years and both are tattooed themselves.

Willmorth’s tattoos are memorials and reminders of times in his life. Cady, who spent 22 years in the Navy, has a tribute to his service on his chest with the names of all the submarines he’s been on.

His first tattoo was a ship on his right arm. and he has a portrait of his grandmother on his other arm.

Cady and Willmorth say that tattoo portraits and memorials have been rising in popularity.

“One of my oldest clients was a guy named Jack,” Willmorth says. “He was 80 and he missed his wife.

“He came in every three weeks or so. First it was her name, then roses, then more roses and finally, her high school senior portrait.”

The tattoo expo is the cousins’ way of bringing together talented and experienced artists with those who want to learn, as well as decorated and non-decorated people alike to converse and to share the colors of their lives or to maybe get another (or a first) tattoo.

Their philosophy is: This is art, this is expression and this has value.

“The industry is moving toward fine art,” says Cady.

Agrees Willmorth: “It’s like being a fine art collector, and, like a collector, you have to take the time to seek it out.”

Local tattoo shops involved in the event include Tiger, Bulletproof, Vixen, Shamrock, The Missing Piece, Rated R, All American Tattoo and Electric Ink.

Another highlight will be an art auction to benefit boys and girls clubs in Spokane and Moses Lake. The art will be by tattoo artists who cross over to canvases other than skin.

There also will be vendors selling T-shirts and accessories related to body art. Jeanie Newby of Shamrock Tattoo will have hair embellishments as well as handbags, and Serana Rose, a clothing designer on the side, will have her creations available for purchase.

There probably will be a lot of things you have never seen before.

“It’s about showing people things they never thought possible,” The Enigma says. “It opens their minds.”