China View: Printing an old two yuan metro ticket, as well as ancient items such as an iconic iron vacuum flask or a taxi receipt, on T-shirts may seem strange to local people, but for a young Englishman living in Beijing, he has become fairly popular doing just that.
At his store selling original T-shirts called Plastered Eight among some non-descript, low-rise dwellings in South Luogu Lane, Dominic Johnson-Hill, whose Chinese name is Jiang Senhai, is self-proclaimed “creative dictator”. In his view, the unique point of his T-shirts are that the images printed on them depict “Beijing from a foreigner’s eyes”.
Johnson-Hill is not serious about formal design theories. Neither is he restricted by traditional thoughts. He liked to catch those images that locals took for granted, relying on inspiration that flashes across his mind. “My T-shirts are Beijing-born street culture, and people here give me confidence and a self-identify,” he said.
According to Johnson-Hill, “I was afraid of selling them then, because I put my heart on the T-shirts and worried that no one would accept them,” he said. “But now, most of the customers are local young people. Although 80 yuan (10.89 U.S. dollars) for a T-shirt is still a little bit high for them, as long as they think the idea is good they will take it without caring about whether is an unknown brand.”
Englishman fashions new ideas in Beijing street arts [China View]
Beijing from a foreigner’s eyes
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