Queer Design Club

Hi, I'm Michael (he/him), and I'm a nonbinary illustrator based in San Diego. My art explores themes of gender, orientation, horror, trauma, and healing. I mostly use CSP, ink, and gouache, though I enjoy experimenting with all kinds of media.

How does being queer inform your work?

Queerness is central to my work. Growing up, it was very rare for me to see representations of the kinds or relationships and expressions of gender that resonated with me. I often use art as a way to fill gaps I still see in media today—gender ambiguity, redefining the masculine aspects of transmasc identity by way of visible transness, complexity and vulnerability in mlm relationships, and the inherent queerness of goth culture.

What are your favorite pieces of queer visual culture?

Goth culture, especially in the US, is a largely underrepresented aspect of queerness that I've always had a strong connection to. The theatrics of My Chemical Romance, particularly during the Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge era, was one of the major catalysts for the artistic journey I've been on since the early 2000s. I've also been largely inspired by Fred H. Berger's photography in Propaganda, a magazine that catalogued and in many ways informed the goth scene in America throughout the 80s and 90s.

Which other queer people inspire you?

A lot of musicians: Gerard Way, Chelsea Wolfe, Orville Peck, Perfume Genius, Ethel Cain, Max Bemis... Too many to name. More than anything, though, I get a ton of inspiration from my local nonbinary community, which I've been actively been a member of and volunteer organizer of for many years now.