Yan Wang Preston

Dr. Yan Wang Preston is a Senior Lecturer in Photography at the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Huddersfield. As an award-winning artist and researcher, her work interrogates the politics, ideologies, and contested definitions of nature in contemporary societies through landscape photography, conceptual art, and performance-based practices. She supervises PhD students and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams across art, ecology, and botany.

Education:

• Practice-based PhD in Photography (University of Plymouth, 2018), supervised by Professor Jem Southam and Professor Liz Wells.

Her research explores intersections of eco-feminism, interculturalism, and decolonial practices. Notable projects include rephotographing the Yangtze River at 100km intervals (2010–2014) and investigating urban re-naturing through transplanted trees (2010–2017). Recent work restages iconic artworks like Manet’s Olympia and Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog to critique gender, race, and colonial legacies. Her exhibitions span the 56th Venice Biennale and Messums London, with monographs published by Hatje Cantz.

Scientific Awards:

• Hundred Heroines, Royal Photographic Society
• 1st Prize, Syngenta Photography Award
• Shiseido Photographer Prize, Three Shadows Photography Annual Award