In Western folklore, the dragon is a malevolent villain that hides in carnivorous lairs, with feathered wings, a fiery mane and ivory spikes that trace its scaly spines. They are the embodiment of pure evil, and descendants of Satan in the Bible with a voracious appetite for earthly creatures and plots to “deceiveth the whole world”.
In Asia, however, the dragon is different. The beasts of Alexandra Leese’s childhood in Hong Kong weren’t great destructors, or winged serpents guarding treasure or damsels in captivity. As in many Asian cultures, dragons are powerful, intelligent and deeply respected. In Japan they are worshipped as the god of the water; in Taiwan, they symbolise imperial power; in Vietnam, they are the bringers of rain; and in the Philippines, they are goddesses of the sea. Dragons in the East are complex creatures with a wide spectrum of personalities. They are not fire and war but the gods of water and of life.
The dragon is the fifth and only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac. Known as the loong, it is the country’s most revered animal, representing power, fortune and strength. Arriving every 12 years, the dragon zodiac will bring in an era charged with energy and renewal. Alex was born in the Year of the Dragon, and with her zodiac year approaching in 2024, she wanted to celebrate all the varied identities of this mythical creature. ”It’s one of the most auspicious years,” she says. “It’s a very healing animal, but it’s also extremely powerful, and playful.” Working alongside long-time collaborator Nellie Eden as joint creative directors, Alex asked 13 Asian women – amongst them well-known figures like Kiko Mizuhara, beabadoobee and John Yuyi – to be photographed for a modern take on the traditional erotic calendar.
The result is Year of the Dragon, a celebration of Asian culture, beauty and sexuality. The motif of the dragon weaves through every detail of the object; in its design, the models’ styling, their makeup and body language. In China, the dragon is commonly associated with the male yang energy, but as journalist Zing Tseng writes in her introduction: “Let’s not torture mystical creatures with our binary notions of masculinity. For our purposes, this dragon is a she/her.” We see spiky pubic hair, snakebite piercings and full-body irezumi tattoos. Dragons emerge as giant sand sculptures, and their fiery breath as red ribbons erupting out of jet black hair. Embodying the celestial, enigmatic and captivating spirit of the creature, we see how female eroticism can manifest in images that are both confident and tender; proud and delicate; yin and yang. “When I think specifically about Asian women, we’re often locked in this binary of hypersexual or submissive,” Alex says. “Every woman has a different idea of how they want to celebrate their sexuality and their body.”
The calendar turns more than just the symbol of the dragon on its head. Naked calendars have long been used as a tool for advertising – for commercial businesses, pornographic magazines, sports teams and charities. These calendars – and erotic imagery at large – are historically shot from and for a male gaze. Most famously, the Pirelli Calendar, which celebrates its 60th edition next year, is photographed by some of the industry’s most illustrious names. Yet in its entire 50 year history, only five women have ever been hired to shoot it.
Year of the Dragon destabilises these dominant mechanics of consumerism and the male gaze in the traditional erotic calendar, adopting an original visual language that prioritises freedom and joy. “We looked at traditional calendars for influence, but also for what not to do,” Alex says. “[Nellie and I] had to analyse what we loved about erotic imagery, and what we did and didn’t relate to from a feminine perspective.” What, for example, is so captivating about Araki’s portraits of rope play? “Very often, we found ourselves falling in love with the lighting of a particular image, but then deciding that the body language was too submissive,” Nellie says, citing Madonna’s iconic 1992 book Sex as a more positive point of reference.
The calendar is an object in and of itself. Enclosed in a delicate brown envelope, they are presented as loose sheets that can either be hung like a traditional calendar, or displayed as individual posters. Crucially, it is a lunisolar calendar, meaning viewers can watch the moon waxing and waning as the days go by. These calendars are common in many Asian cultures where festivities are based around the cycles of the moon. While symbolisms behind mythical creatures can vary by culture, universally, the moon has always been intertwined with feminine energy. The calendar is a subtle reminder of this strength, and the divine power that lies in the liberation of all of our bodies.
‘Year of the Dragon’ is available 15 November via Antenne Books in a limited run of 350.
Credits
All photography Alexandra Leese and Nellie Eden