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Lolita Dreams by Tianhu Yuan: Redefining the Lolita Subculture in China

In Lolita Dreams, Chinese visual artist Tianhu Yuan documents the transformation of the Lolita fashion subculture in China, highlighting how its participants have distanced it from Western misconceptions. Through intimate portraits and interviews, he reveals a world where cuteness, elegance, and femininity become tools for self-expression, cultural reinterpretation, and identity beyond the Nabokovian narrative.

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Lolita Dreams is about the Lolita fashion subculture community in China.

Lolita fashion is a subculture that originated in Japan and is primarily inspired by the clothing and general aesthetics of the Rococo and Victorian periods.

Participants in this subculture have redefined the term ‘Lolita’, shifting its original connotation from Nabokov’s sexual metaphor associated with the Lolita complex to a new, de-sexualized meaning that embodies girlishness, cuteness, and elegance. Particularly, Lolita participants pointed out that Nabokovian Lolita’s undertone is sexualised children, but Lolita fashion subculture is in connection with adults who desire to express childish cuteness. Gradually, Lolita fashion subculture has developed into an industry, generating economic benefits and getting a lot of fans on the internet.
As a foreign subculture, Lolita fashion has inevitably had its ups and downs with the government-led mainstream culture and public opinion in the course of its development. Through interviews and portraits with various Lolita participants, I investigate the phenomenon of de-Westerncentrism in the localization process of the Lolita subculture and the influence of Lolita fashion on their individuality, identity perception, lifestyle choices and consumption habits.

About Tianhu Yuan

Tianhu Yuan is a self-taught Chinese visual artist based in Chengdu and Chongqing. He has a long-standing interest in ACG-related generalized Nijigen subcultural community, and aims to build a dialogue between mainstream society and subculture through his work. He also focuses on the progress of society to explore the relationship between current technology and future developments.
His work has been exhibited at China 29th National Photographic Art Exhibition, RPS IPE165, Galerie Huit Arles, PHOTO IS:RAEL International Photo Festival, Jakarta International Photo Festival, PhEST Festival, Head On Photo Festival and Lishui Art Museum. He was also awarded or shortlisted from Sony World Photography Awards, Fine Art Photography Awards, BJP OpenWalls Arles, BJP Portrait of Humanity, Lucie Foundation Scholarships, PhMuseum Photography Grant, the Meitar Award for Excellence in photography and Head On Photo Awards. [Official Website]

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Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
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