Tattoo Creepers *Illustrators edition \\ Zoë Cain

Our Tattoo Creeper project is a way to collaborate with talented artists to add their spin on our creepers. We love working with creatives in any capacity & we want to see the world from their lens. To check out more of Zoë's work head to their Instagram.

Tell us about yourself & the shoes that you customized:

I’m a Los Angeles based Korean-American artist, illustrator, art teacher, and mental health advocate. I’m passionate about the intersection of art and psychology to spread information and raise awareness for mental health. For the shoes I customized, I really wanted to have fun doodle-bombing them with bright colors and shapes. I designed them with the intention of getting onto a flow and fostering joy. The shoes have a great texture and style that left lots of room to play around.

How would you define your arts aesthetic?

I would say my aesthetic is lowbrow with a heavy influence from the comics and cartoons I watched growing up.

Who or what is your biggest inspiration for your art?

As a kid I was obsessed with Hayao Miyazaki films like Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, and Princess Mononoke. His depiction of spirits is a major source of inspiration in my work. Shows like Adventure Time, Over the Garden Wall, and Steven Universe are also favorites of mine.

What do you want people to take away from your art?

My hope is that others can take away feelings of connection and collective experience. Some of the most harmful effects from living with mental health challenges can be isolation and shame. I always strive to break down the social stigma surrounding mental illness through sharing my personal experiences.

What’s your biggest accomplishment within your career?

Last year I had the honor of being invited to the White House to meet President Biden to discuss the state of mental health in the US alongside a number of other incredible advocates. Meeting the president, first lady, Surgeon General Murthy, and Selena Gomez in one afternoon felt like a huge accomplishment.

A lot of your art has a mental health theme, can you tell us more about that?

I graduated from college with a degree in psychology and for the past few years have been passionate about making psychological research and mental health care more accessible. Research indicates that artistic expression can reduce levels of depression or anxiety and improve areas of memory and cognition in the brain. I can’t think of a better way to promote the powerful impact of art on mental wellbeing than through art itself!