Donna Lyons is a Bristol-based photographic artist whose work explores identity, visibility and representation, and the relationship between how we see ourselves and how we are seen by others.

Working across photography and mixed media, her practice is rooted in observation and lived experience. Her ongoing project Beyond the Veil draws on W.E.B. Du Bois’ concept of double consciousness to explore the tension between imposed and self-defined identity, using obscuration, layering and photographic processes to question ideas of visibility and representation.

Alongside her own practice, Donna is a Director at Bristol Community Darkrooms, where she contributes to the development of its creative programme and creates opportunities for people to engage with photography. Her work there reflects her ongoing interest in socially engaged photography and in enabling people and communities to make, experiment and connect through photography.

A First Class BA (Hons) Photography graduate from the University of the West of England, Donna’s work has been selected for the RWA 173rd Annual Open Exhibition, while Thalassophile, from Beyond the Veil, has been acquired by the University of Bristol for its new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus.