“I have a waterfall of extreme passion of feelings that I need to express regarding my identity. Not only past, but also present day is influential in what I create.” Growing up amidst the beauty and challenges within South Africa, this artist champions the creativity of the country through photography and their own performances. Daniel continues to find subjects who embody tenderness and power, mirroring their personal experiences in life.

What was it like growing up in South Africa?
Growing up in South Africa was incredible. And now that I don’t live there anymore, I see how living there has really shaped the way I view life. Living there made me understand my privilege, what I have, and what others don’t have, and therefore I should be extremely grateful and appreciative of the things that were given to me. It taught me that speaking up; being opinionated is important, and being silent, in times of socio-political problems, is being complicit and contributing to the problem.

I think about it everyday; I think about the mountains and ocean; the people that carry such vibrancy and energy and the TALENT that lives there. It’s extreme.

Also growing up there, gave me the community that I belong to, a SA queer community, and that has completely shaped me into the individual I am today and taught me SO much. I’m forever thankful.

How has your upbringing formed your artistic practice?
My Granny is an artist and I would often visit her and she always encouraged me with anything and everything I wanted to do regarding art. She was very supportive. And I found that there were possibilities in whatever I wanted to make/create. My parents also understood that art was something special for me and they made space for me to be able to express it. I was involved in theatre throughout school ,and that also definitely contributed to my work now. I think also growing up as a very confused child in a world that does not support difference made me the artist I am today ,as there were so many suppressed feelings that I had, and still have.

Has moving and studying in Europe influenced the way in which you create work?
Yes, I think so. In the beginning ,especially. But I didn’t like some of the ways I was working. I was told in my school that my work was “dramatic” or “too dramatic” and therefore I tried to get rid of any element of drama or theatricality in my work. But I hated doing that, because drama is really something that lives and breathes in what I create. Now I just am aware of when my work is not too dramatic, so it can be taken seriously. But, also because I study photography, it has changed the way I work, because I’m of course a lot more knowledgeable than I was before, about technical aspects of the camera, studio and lighting.

What role does identity play in your work?
Identity! Hahahaha.It plays the biggest role in my work. As I mentioned before, as I child I was very confused and depressed and had so much suppressed emotion, and now that I am free from being confused, I have a waterfall of extreme passion of feelings that I need to express regarding my identity. Not only past, but also present day is influential in what I create. Being in this world as a walking non-binary femme person; how I navigate the world, and what it means to be in this body; TODAY.

How do you choose your photography subjects?
The subjects that I photograph are always people that I am really inspired by. Maybe I don’t have to know them personally; it’s more the energy that they possess, and that is what draws me to them. People that understand strength and experience pain; it’s something that I find in myself and recognise in others, and therefore I approach them. But also now that I don’t live in SA anymore, I find myself approaching people that emulate that same energy from home that I miss so much.

Is collaboration an important tool in your art making process?
Yes collaboration is key!!! There are sooooooo many talented people that work in a different creative realm to you that can provide you with more knowledge and a new way of thinking and viewing things. Working with others is really my favourite thing and has brought me so much positivity and is also something I want to continue to do in the future.

Tell us what you are working on right now?
Right, right now, I’m not working on anything; just having my Autumn break. However, I do have a personal project that I am slowly exploring. A project that explores the birth of the femme body, and the complexities that live inside it, and navigating spaces that do not allow you to thrive. It’s a project about empowerment and power TO! Always important. My work is really about empowerment and creating work that I don’t see, and haven’t seen before. Creating new narratives and new power structures that deconstruct the patriarchy and cis-heteronormative ideas.