Biography

Dana Harrison is a multidisciplinary artist based in Warkworth, Ontario. Her work explores the natural world and our place within it. Using a mix of mediums—including scanography, printmaking, and mark-making—she captures the textures, patterns, and fleeting moments found in the landscapes around her.

A deep sense of wonder drives Harrison’s work. She is drawn to the details we often overlook—wild plants, shifting light, and intricate structures beyond human design. By immersing herself in these elements, she invites others to slow down and notice the world outside human-made environments.

For Harrison, art is a way of stepping outside the relentless push for control—over ourselves, our work, and even the world. In a time when so much feels urgent and overwhelming, she finds comfort in remembering that we, too, are just another species of animal, part of something much older and vaster than we can fully grasp. Her practice is an ongoing attempt to reconnect with that perspective, creating space for stillness, awe, and a sense of belonging within nature’s rhythms.

Her recent series, Biophilia and Kaleidoscope, use scanography (photography using a flatbed scanner) to magnify plant life’s quiet complexity, highlighting the beauty of impermanence. Through her work, she hopes to offer a moment of pause—an opportunity to see the natural world with fresh eyes and to feel, even briefly, a little smaller in the best possible way.

Statement

I make large-scale images of plants and botanicals using a flatbed scanner — a simple piece of technology in my studio for years. Working with scanography lets me slow down and see the natural world like I never did before: up close, unfiltered, and full of unexpected detail.

I’m drawn to plants not because they’re decorative, but because they persist. They adapt, grow, collaborate, and do it all without us. After decades of living in human-designed environments — suburbs, cities, and screens — I’ve come to see nature not as something separate, but as the real world. My work is about noticing that, paying attention to it, and offering others a chance to do the same.

Each image is composed by hand, right on the scanner bed. I don’t digitally manipulate the compositions—just clean dust and adjust colour. The scanner’s fixed depth and direct contact with the subject create incredible sharpness, but also limitations. I’ve learned to embrace those.

My Biophilia series began when I looked closely at the plants growing wild around my rural home in Warkworth, Ontario. Kaleidoscope followed — a more playful, childlike reflection on those same forms. I’m interested in the structure of things — how the tiniest patterns, textures, and shapes carry so much intelligence. Nature is complex without being complicated.

I want the work to feel beautiful but also to invite pause, wonder, and a reminder that we are not the centre—just lucky enough to be part of something bigger.

CV

Exhibitions & Residencies 

2025 Atelier AiR - Westcove Estate - Ireland

2024 The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair - Toronto

2023 Kingston Square Foot Show, Tett Centre - Kingston

2023 “Making Warkworth”, Ah! Centre - Warkworth

2023 The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair - Toronto

2022 The Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair - Toronto

Solo Exhibitions

2023 Plants & Flowers, Royal Service Office - Warkworth

Press and Publications

2023 New Visionary Magazine, Issue 8 - Print Magazine

Representation

Dimensions Gallery (Toronto)

Beheld.ca

Corporate Collectors

2022 Intuit Inc., - Toronto

Education

1995 Graphic Design, George Brown College