Mikela Ryan

I was born female.

As a child, I rejected my femininity.

But as I've grown, I have been working to subvert this idea of the gender binary.

My body of work is an exploration on my body, the bodies of others, and the kind of bodies that can be created in a digital space. The ultimate goal is not only to create a space where these ideas can be talked about and shared but celebrate queer folks, and queer bodies. A breaking of the gender binary in the most beautiful way.

To be female but masculine, or male but feminine. The erasure of the gender binary. The celebration of the body.

When I was young, I was faced with the simple question of 'are you a boy or a girl?' As the gaming industry has evolved, the western world has seen a much larger increase in the customization of characters. On the other side, many online games still regard 'queer' as a slur or insult. The word itself on certain platforms can see censorship, or on a more extreme level, bans.

My goal is to use the digital spaces in games to create a narrative of positivity around queerness. I don't want to simply have it be accepted, but celebrated to be yourself. The name of these characters are all the same.

Eden.

A non-gendered name which the vessel of queerness is held.

Paradise.