Taipei’s Sexiest Tattoo Artist: Gladys Strikes Again With Her Art
A long-time favorite of sabukaru, Gladys is a riveting, multifaceted artist: taking Taiwan by storm with her expansive talent, she’s highlighting the young creative scene and the budding artistry that’s slowly engulfing the city life.
Gladys is a Taipei-based creative, honing in her style with the help of photography - which we’ve covered numerous times - as well as her job as a tattoo artist @gladystatt, which relevance is increasing by the minute. Sexy, dark, and coy, her tattoos are a symbol of a new era in the tattooing trade.
Gladys’ style is visibly born from her utmost interests. Her photography comes off as sultry, exotic, mysterious, and heavy, and her tattoo designs ring off in the same tone. But the change of medium allows for creativity to fill larger crevices.
Rather than opting for simpler lines and minimalism, Gladys lets symmetry and lace-like details rule. Like tiny paper cranes, her designs look as if they can get crushed by a palm too strong, but inked in skin forever, they remain still with fervent beauty.
Gladys, born Li Yu Xuan, has always been fond of the 80s, the 90s, and the 2000s, and mixes these eras with her modern perspective to create something that transcends time. Her tattoos are like an amalgamation of cyber-tribal style, and far from looking like anything traditional, Gladys reinvents fluidity and movement with sharp shapes, swift strokes, and dainty frills. Accessories like chains and ribbons are embedded, adding a shade of edginess.
Just like in her photographs, Gladys captures barbed-wire poetry, biohazardous forms, and mall-goth revival with her ink. A highly coveted artist in Taipei, she’s one to look out for.
