“An image exists but it doesn’t necessarily hold the same things as it did when you photographed them”
In a world of fleeting images, Colin Dancel’s photography offers a quiet pause. She invites us to contemplate light, form, and the art of rediscovery in a social media landscape that rarely slows down.
Her latest exhibit, “Yearning Form” in collaboration with Louis Poulsen, illuminates more than just spaces but also expands thoughts on form and imagery. Through carefully curated moments of stillness and light, Dancel pushes the boundaries of what it truly means to capture a moment.
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Her personal take on imagery
Photography, for Dancel, is not simply about capturing a moment. It’s a way of processing the complexities of her inner world and the external environment. “My images are very personal. I try to make images that are quiet,” she explains, revealing the profound introspection that shapes her work.
“I think my whole life I’ve been just finding what that quiet looks like.”
This search for stillness, according to her, was born from a childhood filled with noise—not just the literal sound of life but the incessant internal dialogue that comes with growing up in a world that demands you to look outward, compare, and constantly measure up.
Her photography is a response to that noise, a conscious decision to turn inward. The simplicity of her images is deceptive, masking the emotional depth they carry. In their stillness, they divulge stories—of vulnerability, of observation, of finding solace in the ordinary.
“When I take an image, I don’t just think about what it looks like online. I always think about what it looks like when printed, mounted, displayed…” she reflects. In an era when digital dominance often dictates how images are consumed, Dancel remains steadfast in her belief that photography is an art form that should exist beyond a screen.
Creating “Yearning Form”
“Yearning Form” parallels Dancel’s journey of seeking meaning and connection through images with the ability to transcend the boundaries of a single frame.
“The whole process of the exhibition is it starts from abstraction and then it finds its way to form,” she explains. What was once a cloud of ideas and thoughts now takes shape through years of her photography practice. The exhibit is a symbiotic relationship between light and form, a dialogue between the tangible and the ethereal.
Dancel’s fascination with dance weaves itself throughout the exhibit. “I really gravitate towards dance, and wanted to explore it further,” she says, revealing how movement informs her still images. But “Yearning Form” goes beyond just capturing dancers mid-motion. It incorporates tactile elements—the soft edges of ballet shoes, the reflective surface of a lightbox—that push the boundaries of how photography is experienced.
“I also knew I really wanted to include life,” she adds, explaining how she’s drawn to the challenge of capturing stillness in movement. “I imagine a person just looking at the image and taking on the different elements of it. You can look at the lamp, you can look at the shoes. You can look at the towel. Yes, these objects exist alone, but together, they tell a story.”
In many ways, “Yearning Form” serves as a reminder that photography is not just about suspending time, it’s about reinterpreting it. Each image is an invitation to engage, to trace the movement of light and shadow across the surface, and to discover something new with each viewing. “There are so many ways for an image to exist,” she muses, and this exhibit is a testament to that.
The art of trusting yourself
Behind the polished, thought-provoking imagery of “Yearning Form” is an artist learning to welcome self-trust. Dancel’s honesty about the anxieties that come with creating is disarming.
“You’re the artist. You’re supposed to lead the way,” she says, acknowledging the vulnerability inherent in being the sole decision-maker for her work. For this exhibit, Dancel chose to work alone—without editors or external input—a decision that challenged her to trust her instincts. “It’s so hard to not get direction from people. It’s just you.”
Throughout the process of mounting “Yearning Form,” Dancel was forced to silence the internal voice that questioned her every decision. “I had to do a lot of it alone… and so I learned so much from it,” she says, her tone both reflective and triumphant. This solitude, while challenging, became a source of growth. Each image, each choice—whether it was which photograph to display or how to arrange it—was a step towards trusting herself. This newfound confidence is palpable in the final exhibit. “Yearning Form” stands not just as a showcase of her work but as a personal milestone, a visual declaration of her artistic autonomy.
Constant rediscovery through photography
Photography, for Dancel, is not static—it is a living, breathing process of continuous rediscovery. “An image exists but it doesn’t necessarily hold the same things as it did when you photographed them.” As time passes, both the image and its meaning evolve. “It can change or it will change depending on where you are also in life,” she adds, likening an image to a book that can be revisited, with new insights gleaned each time.
This sense of evolution is what keeps Dancel’s work alive and engaging. Even as a photograph remains unchanged, it becomes imbued with new significance over time. “There are so many things I can do, so many things I can explore… Life is long,” she says.
Challenging the image experience
From the very beginning, Dancel sought to challenge how we experience photography. “I wanted people to experience the images differently, a little bit more tactile,” she explains. For her, the traditional approach to photography—where the viewer merely looks at an image—was limiting. She wanted her audience to engage with the photographs in a more tangible way, to feel as if they could reach out and touch the light, the movement, and the stillness within the frame.
Her collaboration with Poulsen was instrumental in achieving this goal. “They create vessels for light… and I wanted to do that with the images,” she says, using light not just as an element to illuminate her subjects but as something to be experienced. From lightboxes that encourage physical interaction to accordion-style displays that invite viewers to move with the images, Dancel’s work challenges the passive consumption of art.
“There are so many ways for an image to exist,” she repeats, underscoring her belief that photography was never meant to be a one-dimensional medium.
In “Yearning Form,” light and photography become intertwined, each enhancing the other. The way light dances across the surface of her images reflects Dancel’s understanding that light is not just something to be seen but something to be felt. “I wanted to create images that hold light the same way Louis Poulsen holds light,” she says, the parallel between her work and the brand’s iconic designs becoming clear.
The journey continues
As Dancel reflects on “Yearning Form,” she is filled with gratitude and a renewed sense of purpose. “I feel incredibly, incredibly lucky to be able to witness such beautiful things that I’m able to share with the world,” she says. Her photography is not just a technical skill—it’s a way of seeing, a way of being present in the world. “Essentially, all of these exist already. All I do is just put them together in one room, photograph it, and give it another life.”
But Dancel’s journey is far from over. If anything, “Yearning Form” has opened up new possibilities for her work and new ways to approach photography and storytelling. “Now I’m really thinking more about the longevity of an image,” she says. “An image is forever, right?” And in this belief lies the heart of her photography—a quiet, thoughtful, intentional practice that invites us to see the world in a different light, to pause, and to yearn for more.
Dancel’s photography is a deep breath in a world of constant movement. Through her work, she encourages us to find the quiet moments, to trust our instincts, and to reimagine the beauty that surrounds us. In doing so, she reminds us that light, form, and meaning are always there—waiting to be seen, waiting to be felt.