10 Questions with Dana Wang

Dana Wang is a photographer and cinematographer based in London, currently working primarily in the camera department on film sets. Born in Hangzhou, she moved to England at the age of 18. Her time in England brought a realisation of free expression in photography, intriguing her to explore what matters to her in the surroundings, especially in an era full of conflicts, misunderstandings and wishes for peace.

After relocating to London in October 2024, she has pursued a freelance career across feature films, documentaries, shorts and photography. Her cross-cultural journey has shaped a distinctive visual sensibility. In her photographic work, she always cultivates a quiet, poetic gaze, one that lingers in moments of stillness and emotional resonance. She approaches composition as a dialogue between subject and space, allowing images to breathe and offering the viewer a contemplative encounter.

Themes of identity, nature, and human connection recur throughout her practice, carrying with them a cinematic subtlety and rhythm that flows seamlessly between her film and photographic projects. To her, all perspectives matter, whether experimental, poetic, or authentic. Bringing a visual perception to society is not only a personal fulfilment but also an ethical responsibility: to discern what is worth expressing, and to offer it as a lens through which the world might be seen anew.

danawang.cargo.site | @dana_iee

ARTIST STATEMENT

Dana’s work arises from a search for the relationship between her practice and the world around her. She used to see photography or film as simple acts of intuitive capture, but not anymore; behind every frame lies a concept, a reflection on what it means to exist in relation. Through her ongoing journeys and projects, she has come to recognise that what she seeks to express is symbiosis, the delicate interdependence between humans and nature, between people and one another, and between individuals and society.

This notion of symbiosis, as she defines it, is more than coexistence: it is the ground upon which people can return to themselves and rediscover a stable sense of joy and belonging. Those who remain unaware of this connection often experience isolation, while those who embrace it find quiet harmony. Whether capturing the shadow of a tree at the edge of a city, an intimate exchange between strangers, or the human presence reclaimed under the iceberg, her images are not static records but distilled emotions, an invitation for viewers to pause, breathe, and recognise their own place within a shared and interwoven existence.

Symbiosis 2, Photography, 3909x2199, 2023 © Dana Wang

INTERVIEW

Let's start from the beginning. Can you share a bit about your journey into photography and film? What first drew you to this medium?

I come from a somewhat contradictory Chinese family: both of my grandparents were artists back in their day, while my parents worked in fields completely unrelated to art. Growing up, I practised painting as my only form of artistic expression; I never really explored photography or film.
Moving to the UK at the age of 18 was a crucial period to rebuild values and embrace new perspectives, and it made me realise how much I'm drawn to the world as it changes. I've never been good at re-creating, but perhaps I am good at observing. I decided to follow my true desire, so I chose Film and Television Production as my undergraduate degree. About a year into university, I finally saved enough to buy my first second-hand DSLR camera, a Nikon D750, and that was when my photography journey began.
Like many others, when I first got the chance to shoot, I took the strong initiative of expressing myself to the world, thinking the stories I perceived were the unique, worth-telling ones; though later I came to a realisation that self-expression is the least important part. Both photography and film are, for me, about the privilege of capturing what is truly happening, moments you can resonate with, feel, and touch, and the subject is never just about "I." Rather, it's about opening up a perspective, a way of seeing the world, that can be shared with others. As The Photo Issue of The Flow Trip (where my work was recently featured) beautifully puts it: "Here's to seeing through different lenses." Photography is a medium that authentically shows that the world is out there for you.

You work in both film and photography. How do these two practices influence each other in your creative process?

Photography trains my instinctive perception, capturing precise, fleeting moments. Cinematography cultivates my sensitivity to the narrative unfolding in the environment. It's difficult to say which has a stronger influence on my visuals, but the discipline I developed through photography clearly informs much of my cinematography work.
At the same time, cinematography gives me a structured approach to visual design, which now guides how I approach photography, helping me bridge the gap between immediate perception and conceptual intention. As a self-taught photographer, I find that applying a cinematic way of thinking, from idea to execution, has accelerated my growth in photography, especially in creating photo series.

Symbiosis 7, Photography, 2048x1152 px, 2025 © Dana Wang

Having grown up in Hangzhou and later moved to England, how has this cross-cultural journey shaped your artistic sensibility and the way you see the world through your lens?

Not necessarily relevant to the change of one particular city to another, when one moves away from home, speaks a second language, and gets used to a different environment, they tend to be closer and more intimate with their real self; they develop the definition of "belongings" and "hometown".
It is the case for me. In the book Walden, Henry David Thoreau wrote, "for if he has lived sincerely, it must have been in a distant land to me." I believe this cross-cultural adventure gave me more sensitive eyes, quietly and firmly, seeing how people around me live, struggle and grow. It is one of the most exciting things, because you see how Western and Asian values are woven into two completely different societies. While the good thing is, you yourself become the middle point, connecting and rewarding those minors in daily life that people usually forget to look at. This is an important perspective for my own art.

Your photographs often carry a quiet, contemplative quality. How do you cultivate this sense of stillness and emotion in your work?

One's photos definitely carry the personality of the photographer; it's like every artist has their own signature style, and audiences can always roughly picture what kind of people they are from seeing their work.
I always assume the reason why I particularly enjoy capturing a sense of stillness and emotion is because my subconscious was coded with a pessimistic principle, that all the joy and happiness are fragile and ephemeral. I didn't try to cultivate my visual style on purpose, just naturally, the captured still, quiet and contemplative moments in our lifebecome more meaningful and eternal in my understanding. Hopefully, my work can make people feel, not simply see.

Themes of identity, nature, and human connection run through your practice. Why do these subjects feel especially important to you at this moment in time?

We live in a highly changed world. There are wars, protests, propaganda, all the political means everywhere; I can't remember when the idea of 'seeing one world as a whole' and 'globalisation' was not mainstream anymore; the mass media has dragged people's opinions to a bipolar point, creating hate and misunderstanding between people and people. The boundary between digital and reality is blurry.
It was my first year in university, and I started to question myself, how to face a world full of extremes; as an individual, where should I position myself in this chaotic narrative to gain inner peace? That was when I paid attention to the natural world, our planet earth, who generously breed, nurtures and embraces every creature under natural laws. I started to beobservant of the human connections between society and the natural world; it became a later inspiration for me to use photography as a methodology, discussing how my implicit feelings and wishes towards the world can be expressed in an abstract visual way. Even today, if I feel lost again, I will go back to the natural world to find my anchor.

You've described your work as a search for symbiosis between people, nature, and society. Could you share an example of a project where this idea became especially clear?

I have taken lots of photos while travelling, which gave me the privilege to become a quiet outsider and observer, capturing local cultures and their connections with the natural world. One of my favourite photos was actually taken in Tibet, which I called "The Melting Mountain."
Photographed at the foot of the Karola Glacier, The Melting Mountain portrays a landscape caught in transition. Once a place of permanence, the glacier now withdraws year by year, leaving behind bare rock and fragile streams of meltwater tracing the mountain's slow disappearance. In the lower left corner, two tiny figures, local patrol workers or possibilysecurity guys, appear, checking the area for any unusual changes. At over 5,000 meters above sea level, they maintain one of the closest relationships possible with this melting glacier, even though it is immense, silent, and indifferent to human presence.
This image became especially meaningful to me because it captures the delicate interplay between humans, ecosystems, and the broader environment. The melting glacier is both a symbol and a symptom of displacement: of ecosystems losing their equilibrium, of communities forced to adapt as water sources vanish, and of humanity itself becoming estranged from the natural rhythms that once sustained it.
In this way, the photograph reflects my ongoing search for symbiosis, showing that our connection to nature and to one another is fragile, yet essential. The Melting Mountain is not only a record of environmental loss but also a meditation on belonging and impermanence, asking what it means to find a home on a planet in flux, and how we might reclaim our place within it before it is too late.

Symbiosis 4, Photography, 3246x1826 px, 2023 © Dana Wang

You've spoken about the responsibility of offering a new lens to society. How do you decide what is "worth expressing" through your images?

In Question 5, I briefly mentioned why I shifted my attention to the natural world — I believe finding inner peace is an important topic for people living in modern society, while acknowledging that everyone has different ways of achieving it, such as meditation, yoga, or drawing.
But why is photography unique and important as a tool for sharing ideas? First, it draws broader attention by turning an intimate idea into a collective visual experience. Second, when the lens focuses on someone or something, they are placed at the centre of your perspective, and that means a lot.
I remember the first time I saw Cédrine Scheidig's series "The Dunes, The Fire". From the very first glance, I felt a strong connection with the French-Caribbean young people she photographed. She used a gentle visual language to show their coastal life, motorbikes, lifestyle, wandering, and overall vibe. Except for being there as an ignorant, or not, tourist, I trulybelieve there is no better way of sensing their life by handling part of your perspective to those sensitive observers, letting their understanding help you immerse deeper. If I can build a connection with the people in the picture, I believe most audiences can as well.
Based on this experience, deciding what is "worth expressing" becomes simpler. The truth is, every little thing is worth expressing, as long as emphasising it can make the world a better place. It might be a personal wish to show people my definition of "peace," a reminder not to overlook daily joys, or a sensitive eye toward an invisible group. But no matter what content I choose to shoot, placing it at the centre of attention must somehow make society a more thoughtful and caring place, at least in my understanding.

What inspires you most right now, whether from cinema, literature, daily life, or personal experience?

I would say literature. My friend and I once had an interesting debate: when it comes to film, what lingers longer in your memory, a good story or a good visual?
Although I see myself as a cinematographer, my answer is, strangely, a good story. In this sense, I've always felt that cinematography and photography differ fundamentally. Still photography, to me, is much closer to literature. Both are like sentences that stop just before the end, something unsaid, unfinished, and quietly suspended in time.
Sometimes, it takes days, months, or even years before you suddenly recall that photograph or that line from a book, and at that moment, you finally understand what the creator meant.
Perhaps this is the reason why I love photography: it leaves infinite space for reflection, allowing an ordinary moment to dissolve into abstraction and to live beyond its frame. Perhaps it's precisely this openness that enables viewers to grow new sensibilities, to see, to feel, and to complete the image with their own imagination. And that's the kind of photography I hope to create, one that continues to inspire.

Symbiosis 3, Photography, 5822x3275 px, 2022 © Dana Wang

Symbiosis 5, Photography, 4914x2764 px, 2024 © Dana Wang

What projects or directions are you excited to explore in the near future, both in film and in photography?

There are two main directions I would love to explore in the near future. The first is film photography. At a time when AI continues to reshape the entire creative industry, I feel an even stronger urge to return to the fully manual, tactile process of image-making. Film photography reminds me of the material essence of the medium, its intimacy, imperfection, and authenticity. It's about slowing down, being present, and embracing the unpredictability of the physical world. I believe that in the years ahead, this return to craftsmanship and human touch might become an essential counterbalance to the technological wave. The second direction is to deepen my personal narrative, shifting from grand, collective stories toward more individual and introspective subjects. I see this as a natural continuation of my ongoing exploration of Symbiosis, making the concept more complete by grounding it in personal experience and emotional truth. In this context, I've begun developing a new photo series titled Soft Murder. This body of work examines how Asian women are perceived and redefined within Western cultural contexts through body language and spatial composition. It reflects on how postcolonial narratives and Western frameworks subtly consume and rewrite one's sense of identity. Through the dialogue between body and space, the series seeks to dismantle the conventional image of the "gentle" Asian woman by shaping a daily-life "villain" figure, someone who still carries visible Eastern features, yet whose presence embodies rebellion, confidence, and strength. Beneath her composed appearance lies a quiet defiance, revealing both the subtle violence of the gaze and the possibility of reclaiming one's agency. Together, these two directions, returning to the essence of film practice and exploring the evolving self, define the next chapter of my artistic journey.

Lastly, what is your biggest goal for 2025? And how close are you to achieving it?

My biggest goal for 2025 is to understand myself better, to accept the slowness of creation and to keep exploring my relationship with the world around me.
It's a lifelong process rather than a single achievement. But I'm grateful that this year marks the beginning of that journey, a time to slow down, to listen, and to gradually translate my thoughts and emotions into the language of images, sharing them with the world in an honest way.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a curated promotional platform that offers artists the opportunity to articulate their vision and engage with our diverse international readership through insightful, published dialogues. Conducted by Mohamed Benhadj, founder and curator of Al-Tiba9, these interviews spotlight the artists’ creative journeys and introduce their work to the global contemporary art scene.

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