Dr Yan Wang Preston is a British-Chinese artist interested in the contested perceptions of nature in contemporary societies. Her major projects include Mother River, for which she photographed the entire 6,211km Yangtze River at precise 100km intervals; and Forest, for which she investigated the complexities of urban nature in two Chinese cities. Both projects were published by Hatje Cantz as monographs in 2018.

Preston’s work has won many international awards such as the 1st Prize in Professional Landscape category, Sony World Photography Awards (2019) and the 1st Prize in Professional Commission, Syngenta Photography Award (2017). She has exhibited at numerous venues, including the 56th Venice Biennale, Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, Wuhan Art Museum in China, Gallery of Photography Ireland and Impressions Gallery in the UK.

Preston was originally trained in Clinical Medicine in China. She was awarded a PhD in Photography from the University of Plymouth, UK, in 2018. Besides of her artistic practice, she also lectures at the University of Huddersfield, UK.