British born photographer, Jonathan Anderson, and Chinese-Malaysian photographer, Edwin Low, have collaborated as the team Anderson & Low since 1990. An exclusive body of work, never previously exhibited in a commercial exhibition, Manga Dreams is a collaborative construction between the subjects and photographers in which numerous layers of interpretations, translations, exchanges, reproductions and visual executions are involved.
Subjects tailored their look to that of manga, tamed hair and costume, whilst performing for the photographers - and the photographers dressed, groomed and photographed their subjects. Manga, stemming originally from Asia, means 'cartoon' and within the context of this exhibition connected street youth and visual cyber culture with contemporary art.
Manga Dreams was subsequently featured in the 2011 Venice Biennale, and exhibited in the National Gallery of Australia, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, UK, Museé de la Civiisation, Quebec City, Canada, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art.
Manga Dreams, a monograph of this project, was produced in 2011, published by Lucky Panda Press and has a forword by Yasufumi Nakamori the Assistant Curator of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.