What is Chinese dreamcore? Hong Kong exhibition leans into millennial anxiety (opens in new tab)

Emerging on the internet in the early 2020s, “Dreamcore” is an aesthetic inspired by the surreal, nostalgic-yet-eerie feel of online video games of the early 2000s. A distinctly Chinese subgenre, however, abandons elements common in Western dreamcore – such as empty suburban spaces and VHS glitch effects – and instead reflects the rapid urbanisation of mainland China. “Chinese dreamcore” taps into the weird, discordant architecture that the country’s netizens have grown up with and glamorises...