Saana Wang (born 1979 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

) is a Finnish fine art photographer. She graduated from the

Gerrit Rietveld Academie The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is an art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The academy was founded in 1924 and offers programs in fine arts and design. History In 1924, the I ...

in 2004, the Photo Global Program of the School of Visual Arts in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in

, Finland. In her photographs, Wang depicts the changing of social structure and city urbanization in modern China. Wang uses the masks of the traditional

Beijing opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

to transform the local Chinese residents into fictional characters. As a decisive step towards defamiliarization, she turns the people's spare living rooms into a stage. Wang conveys multilayered reality that express structures of power as well as tensions between the different elements in the picture. Wang has had exhibitions in New York City, European countries such as Finland, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, as well as East Asia. Wang won the International Photography Prize International Talent Support – Photo Award 2009. Wang is part of the "photographic movement

The Helsinki School The Helsinki School was a name introduced in an article by Boris Hohmeyer, ''Aufbruch im hohen Norden'' (Breakthrough in the Far North), in art Das Kunstmagazin in 2003. This was the first time it was used as a brand name to describe a selection ...

". She is often invited to participate panel discussions in institutions such as The American-Scandinavian Foundation (known as Scandinavian House) in Manhattan, NY. Wang lives and works in New York City. She has also lived in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China.

References

External links

Saana Wang's Official WebsiteWang's Gallery Taik
1979 births Living people Finnish photographers Finnish women photographers Artists from Helsinki Aalto University alumni Gerrit Rietveld Academie alumni Fine art photographers Finnish expatriates in China Finnish expatriates in the United States 21st-century Finnish photographers {{photographer-stub