Manga Dreams is a collaborative construction between the subjects and photographers. Subjects tailor their look to that of manga, tamed hair and costume, whilst performing for the photographers and the photographers dress, groom and photograph their subjects. Manga, stemming originally from Asia, means "cartoon" and within the context of this exhibition connects street youth and visual cyber culture with contemporary art.

The influence of street culture is well recognised in modern art, take Lichtenstein, Warhol and Basquiat for example; and Manga Dreams can be seen as a continuation of this genre, drawing on an Eastern paradigm and applying it to portraiture whilst exploring a visual hybrid of photography, graphics, digital painting and calligraphy.