Linda Chen
⤏ IN CONVERSATION WITH SARA M. LYONS
⤏ PHOTOS BY NAS NIXX | MAKE-UP BY LINDA CHEN | STYLING BY IVORY WOODS
⤏ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2019
Looking at Linda’s Instagram is like submerging yourself in a heart-shaped hot tub — all raunch and romance. Everything leopard print, pink satin, and red lace. Photos hazy with a Vaseline-smeared glow. There’s a healthy dose of camp at play, too. Scroll back far enough and you’ll find some lovingly styled photos of Rosy, her pet Madagascar hissing cockroach, whose meticulous abode boasts a roach-sized chaise lounge and a tiny 50s diner.
Linda is all about the fantasy. It’s the driving force behind everything the Los Angeles based artist does. But Creepy Gals isn’t just about kitsch and camp — it’s also about self care, self love, and the path toward personal empowerment. I caught up with her recently to talk about what fuels the fantasy.
SARA: Let’s just get right into it. What is the Creepy Gals fantasy?
LINDA: Oh my goodness! I always describe Creepy Gals as serving Valentine’s kitsch fantasy with a side of filth. It’s a juxtaposition of darkness and beauty. I find irreverent things and trash to be so beautiful. Pretty much the raunchier, the funnier, the better! That’s the feel of Creepy Gals, just bringing together the dualities of life. We have it all within us, the darkness and the light.
I can see my fantasy in everything. Sometimes it’s hard for me to articulate myself with words, but I feel like I really know how to articulate myself to the world through my vision.
S: When did you begin to develop that vision? Like, are there any moments from your childhood that stand out to you as pivotal in making you who you are as an artist?
L: I think before I was even influenced by anything, creating was innate for me. But I think one of the things I can remember is Captain Underpants — a children’s book about two kids that brainwash their really tough, conservative principal into a superhero that only wears underwear as a costume. I guess the humor of that really stuck with me, and I started wanting to create storybooks and characters, and whole universes and worlds of my own.
I remember I created this character Wonerpig - I’ll need to give a little context for that one. I created this anthropomorphic pig woman. She was femme and she was a superhero. As a child, when I would make these storybooks, I used to draw the cover first, and I would laminate it with tape so it would look like a real cover, and then I would create the rest of the story from that. So, when I was making this cover, I didn’t realize until after I laminated it that I had forgotten the “D” in Wonder. So it just said “WONERPIG.” And I was like, “Well, I’m not going to go back and change it, so you know what? I’m just going to roll with it. She’s Wonerpig.”
And later in life, I looked it up, and “Woner” means “woman boner!” It’s like, I was tapped into that fantasy before I even knew what it was.
S: It all comes full circle. So creating characters and building a world has always been a part of your experience as an artist; it’s about a narrative.
L: It really is. It was just something I wanted to do. I’ve always created, throughout grade school, into high school, but when I hit college I was kind of scared to do art. I felt like I needed to do something more practical and pragmatic. I didn’t know if I could sustain myself being an artist. So I went to school for marketing, and that was soul sucking. My classes were just so dry and uninspiring, but I didn’t know what else to do, because I thought security meant making money. I thought I had to get the degree, work nine to five at a company, but I abruptly realized that was not for me. So I went through this whole weird time where I was sort of creating, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t really developing my world. I had to put that to the side while I developed myself as a person. Which is fine, like, I hold no animosity toward that experience, it helped turn me into who I am today.
S: Where were you before you moved to L.A.?
L: I was in New Jersey. I moved here two and a half years ago, and I started creating characters, and the next thing I knew I had this whole universe to explore.
S: Tell me a little more about this world! Who was the first official entry into the Creepy Gals cast of characters? Do they all have fully realized personalities?
“I want to be a filthy version of Sanrio. That’s kind of the dream.”
L: It’s always developing! My first real baby was Lolly Dolly — my little devil cherub. All these characters are aspects of me that I’m illustrating, and I feel like it takes time for me to really understand them fully. I birthed them! They’re only like, two years old, so they’re still taking time to develop into their form.
When I’m creating these characters I take a lot of inspiration from everything I’ve watched, everything I consume. They’re a result of things I have experienced my whole entire life. I love campy movies. John Waters really opened the floodgates for me. I just like to create fun characters, because life is already too damn serious.
S: It kind of reminds me of the Sanrio universe. You introduced your devil character Anton LaSlay more recently, and he goes so cutely along with Lolly Dolly, but he can also exist in his own world as his own unique character.
L: That’s exactly how I feel about these characters! I want to be a filthy version of Sanrio. That’s kind of the dream.
S: What’s your work ethic like? You’re always working on a ton of really cool projects.
L: What really helps me lately is meditating. I’ve been learning how to find a balance between doing the business-end stuff and actually creating. I wish I didn’t have to do the business stuff, because that part is hard for me. My brain isn’t wired for that. But I have to be practical and set schedules for myself to do things, like answer emails or pack orders.
S: It looks like you’ve struck a good balance from the outside. It’s really impressive how many different skill sets you’re always adding to your creative toolbox!
L: I just feel like I have this fiery passion to create! It’s all I want to do, and it’s fun for me, and because it’s fun for me I’ll do it. It might be challenging, or I might be so tired, but at the end of the day, when I see myself create something it’s all worth it. If you can make something that makes you feel good, why wouldn’t you do it?
S: I know you have a double Scorpio with a Leo rising, so that sounds about right! That’s some serious passionate energy right there.
L: Oh yeah, I’m very passionate. Yeah, Scorpio and Leo! I delve really deep into my shadow side, and that’s where the darkness comes from, but I also love embracing the light and the aesthetic, which is my Leo side. That mixture is really what creates Creepy Gals.
S: What do you think has been your greatest achievement with Creepy Gals so far?
L: I think the fact that my work resonates with anybody is my greatest achievement. I feel really humbled and astounded that people from all over the world like my work. If my work can help other people tap into their own fantasy, that’s a beautiful thing for me. If my work is a catalyst for self care and love — I mean, that’s my life. It’s really about love for yourself.
S: Speaking of being immersed in fantasy, let’s talk about your installations. Last year you created “Love Motel,” a full scale installation experience that took over the Laser Kitten space in Hollywood. This year you’re working on “Haus of Divine,” which is opening in November at Foxblood. You don’t have to spoil anything major about the new experience, but tell me a bit about “Love Motel” and “Haus of Divine!”
L: I just really love creating immersive experiences. I want other people to experience the fantasy with me, and tap into their own fantasies! “Love Motel” was the motel of the Creepy Gals universe, and you know how in motels, they have bibles? Well, in my universe, that bible is John Waters’ book Shock Value. So if that was the bible of the “Love Motel,” this next installation is an extension of that world. It’s me creating the church behind the book.
S: So it’s kind of the Creepy Gals version of a religious experience?
L: Mm-hmm. Spiritual. I’m creating a church that has no rules. It’s not about confining yourself and restricting yourself within the system. It’s about finding the system within you. That’s the philosophy of this church.
S: If you could build any installation, what would be your dream?
L: I would make a theme park.
S: You do such an amazing job of presenting the fantasy on Instagram. But you’ve also been pretty open on social media about your personal struggles with depression and anxiety. What are your thoughts on existing as an artist in the digital sphere, and the effect it has on your mental health?
L: Social media is hard. It’s a double-edged sword. It’s a great platform to share your work with the world, but it can also make you feel very vulnerable. I end up comparing myself a lot. It’s so easy to fall down a spiral when you see someone else doing something you want to do.
S: Do you find a sense of community when you talk about depression and anxiety on Instagram?
“Really deep within me, there was always that passion to create. But I was navigating life in a fog.”
L: Absolutely, because literally everybody is going through something. I have suffered with mental illness my entire life. Being able to talk about it has been a therapeutic thing. Really deep within me, there was always that passion to create. But I was navigating life in a fog. I was creating, but I wasn’t present.
Coming out here to L.A. was really a catalyst for my feelings. Getting into tarot and astrology has been a huge part of my healing; understanding me as a person and my unique self. And I’m going to therapy.
The end of last year was the roughest time for me. I was the most depressed I’ve ever been. Right after Love Motel, I fell into a deep, deep depression. I started to fixate on all my insecurities. I didn’t have balance anywhere. I was feeling so lost. I didn’t know if I could continue creating. During that time I was also experiencing art theft. People were stealing my work and I felt so suffocated by everything. I spiraled for months. I got to a point where I didn’t know if I could continue on the next day. But something in me — that passion to create —was still there.
So I started going to therapy, doing a lot of meditation, digging into my shadow every day. I pulled a tarot card — the Tower card. The Tower was the most transformative and important card for me. It’s about breaking down your everything: your will, your blocks, your illusions. Tower moments happen to everybody. They break you down so you can build a stronger foundation and know who you are. You gotta go to the core of yourself when you’re at that lowest low.
Also, I started taking Lexapro. That really helped me. Now I feel very much tapped into myself. I mean, taking medication isn’t a panacea, it’s not a cure-all. But that, in conjunction with actually doing inner work, has been transformative.
S: Do you have any advice for creatives who might also be looking to find “their people”?
L: Just be you and live your own fantasy! You’ll attract the type of people that resonate with you. If you can be authentically yourself, you’ll find people that will gravitate towards you, because they’ll appreciate you. If you’re trying to be something you’re not in order to attract people, they’re only going to be attracted to the parts that you’re pretending to be.
S: What advice do you have for anyone who’s trying to live their own fantasy?
L: I’m still figuring mine out. It’s a work in progress. It’s all about balancing your elements — your mind, your body, your emotions, your spirit. When you balance all that, you have everything you need to manifest what you want in your life. Every morning I wake up and I commit to myself. I commit to loving myself, liking myself, valuing myself, respecting myself, having fun with myself, laughing at myself and being kind to myself, trusting myself and believing in myself — instead of spiraling with a negative thought.
I want you to love yourself and create the best life for yourself. Your fantasy!
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⤏ SARA M. LYONS (SHE/HER) IS AN ARTIST, ILLUSTRATOR, MURALIST, PRODUCT DESIGNER, AND VIRGO LIVING IN NORTH ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (WHICH IS REALLY NOT THAT BAD!). HER WORK IS LIGHT-HEARTED, WHIMSICAL, AND FULL OF MAGICAL SYMBOLISM. WHEN SHE'S NOT CREATING, SARA LIKES VISITING FLEA MARKETS, RIDING ROLLER COASTERS, DRINKING FANCY BEERS, READING COMICS, AND GETTING HER NAILS DONE.