Daniel Nolan – Artist
Daniel Nolan is an Irish designer, illustrator & self-proclaimed Japanophile based in London. With a background in both graphic and interior design, his distinctive style creates an endless visual explosion of kawaii kink. His themes vary from pop culture & anime to erotica & fetishism.
“I always want to make people smile and not take things so seriously.”- Daniel Nolan
Queer Culture
Daniel has described his work as a ‘sparkly collision of sexuality and charm.’ Examining aspects of queer culture in a unique way is something he’s particularly passionate about.
“My work is definitely an expression of who I am, but it’s also a commentary on a lot of gay topics and fascinations. It started by exploring the gay male stereotype and poking a little fun through the context of the sugary sweet illustrations. There’s a huge emphasis on the masc-aesthetic in the gay community now. Being quite an effeminate gay man myself, I really want to challenge this alleged masculinity with my work.”
Living Portfolio
Daniel gets all his models from Instagram. “Instagram has been such a wonderful media in facilitating and sharing my art. It creates this really interesting connection between the model and myself, quite often, having never even met each other. My feed is also my living portfolio! It changes day by day, and I really enjoy adding to that.”
O-KAMA
Daniel created a ‘zine‘ this year entitled ‘O-KAMA’ ( ‘gay’ in Japanese) which uses 25 male models to depict different gay stereotypes.
“I’ve had a thriving love affair with Japan since I was very young. It started with listening to a lot of J-pop, and it blossomed from there. It’s a constant influence for me, as I’m sure you can tell!”
Support the Artist
You can follow Daniel on Instagram to see his living portfolio grow, and you can buy a copy of his queer Japanophilic zine O-KAMA.
Who’s next?
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