Episode 38: Lena NW

Lena NW (she/her) is a multimedia artist, rapper, and game designer whose work touches on the messy, fraught, and darkly humorous effects of fringe internet culture. Her MFA project, Nightmare Temptation Academy (2020), crystalizes her experience growing up on the internet and becoming desensitized to shock content, while also exploring digital alienation and collage creativity. She joined me on Kritiqal Care to talk more about what drew her to games, the Neopets/Gaia Online/4chan pipeline, and trying to be an ethical edgelord.

You can find Lena’s work on her personal site, play Nightmare Temptation Academy on itch, and listen to her music on Bandcamp.

Lena’s Cool Thing to Share

Dorian Electra (specifically tracks Edgelord and Musical Genius)

Things Discussed

Nightmare Temptation Academy

Neopets

Fuck Everything (Lena NW, 2014)

MySpace

Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nate Kiernan, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider sharing it with a loved one and becoming a supporter on Patreon. It means a lot.