How Stepping Away Helped her Show up Better| Dr. Evilletown

For our Women in Arts interview series, we spoke with Dr. Evilletown, an interdisciplinary artist based in Queens who works under an alias that gives her the freedom she once felt she didn’t have. In this interview, she talks about how public school and a creative home life helped shape her path, why she’s always felt the need to make art, and how she’s learning to find a bit more balance in her everyday life.

She shares what helps her recognise when something in her work is clicking, what it’s like to create during uncertain times, and how environmental concerns continue to influence her practice. We also get a glimpse into the variety of materials and methods she uses, from sound and performance to fibre and public art. It’s a conversation about staying true to yourself, even when it takes a while for others to catch on.

Dr. Evilletown (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist working out of Queens. This alias has allowed her creative opportunities and freedoms that she found lacking as a young woman in the early 2000s. Her artwork uses a variety of visual art techniques, public art and sound. She explores polluted biologies of the future, family history, and injury through her practice. She uses free or recycled items whenever possible.

1. How did you get started in your art career?

I am a millennial, so I come from a time when public education included visual art, music, and, I believe, theatre. I had already been working as early as I can remember, but I attribute public school for showing me a path towards a career, and early exposure to technique and art history. I also have very supportive and creative parents who did not question my methods or interests.

Even if everyone around you says that you are wrong, trust your instinct. Sometimes the rest of the world has to catch up.

Dr. Evilletown

2. When you’re creating something new, what makes you pause and say, This is working?

Sometimes my instincts are wrong, and I push through anyway. I find that it’s very easy to tell in the finished results, and they are not always bad. However, when a piece has an ease to it (which does not necessarily mean it is easy!) or perhaps a feeling of lightness, even if it’s a darker topic, I know that something is going well.

3. How do you balance your personal life with your art career?

Balance is something I am working towards! I am not the best at this, as I have had some instability in my personal life for the past few years, and sometimes my work is a direct commentary on my experiences. However, I started meditating a few years ago, and I feel like it is just now beginning to work. I can tell when I am completely overloaded, and I value taking breaks in any shape or form. I can show up better for myself and others when I take a step back for a little while.

4. How do you envision the future of your art and its impact on the world?

Everything I make and even my practice reflects some form of environmental care. “Saving the planet “ has been in public discourse since I was a child, and it is only getting worse. If my work can contribute to raising awareness, sparking action, or fostering conversation around this problem, that would be amazing. On the other side, I keep making things because I have to. I am genuinely compelled to make Art. I have been my whole life, and I will never stop.

Sometimes my instincts are wrong, and I push through anyway. I find that it’s very easy to tell in the finished results, and they are not always bad.

Dr. Evilletown

5. What mediums and techniques do you primarily work with?

I am an interdisciplinary artist working in painting, public art, video, fibre arts, sound, and performance art…sometimes all at once.

6. Do you have any parting words of wisdom for our readers or aspiring artists?

Even if everyone around you says that you are wrong, trust your instinct. My work is just now starting to get more recognition, and I haven’t changed what I am doing all that much. Sometimes the rest of the world has to catch up. Also, be aware of the difference between extreme delusion and gut instinct! It’s a fine line.

Dr. Evilletown’s work invites us to imagine future worlds shaped by both damage and resilience. Through her use of recycled materials and experimental techniques, she brings attention to environmental concerns, the messiness of family history, and the ways our bodies carry experience.

Her journey reminds us that art doesn’t always need to follow a straight path; it can be messy, intuitive, and even uncertain. What matters is showing up, trusting your gut, and staying open to change, even if it takes years for others to see what you’ve been building all along.

To learn more about Dr. Evilletown, visit the links below.