In 1998, long before K-Pop dominated global charts, Danish sisters S.O.A.P. released their debut album Not Like Other Girls. As third culture kids in the ’90s pop music scene, they made tracks in Malay and English for the world stage — a small gesture that hinted at something bigger: the idea that identity didn’t have to live neatly inside one culture.
That’s why discovering Dān Dān felt oddly familiar — like a story looping back through a generation more comfortable living across multiple worlds – with better cameras, tech and communication tools.
Based in Auckland, Dān Dān is one half of the indie-pop duo Ersha Island, singing in Mandarin and English – “musician” is only one part of the picture. She’s also a photographer, videographer, visual storyteller and creative multi-hyphenate — the kind of artist whose work flows naturally between mediums.
“Any hat that people want me to put on,” she laughs, “I’ll put it on and make it work with my outfit.”
BETWEEN TRADITION AND NOW
One of the most striking aspects of Dān Dān’s visual work is how instinctively it moves between east and west.
In her most recent video ‘songs about u’ she wears a qipao, the elegant Chinese dress often associated with Shanghai in the early 20th century. Beneath it, she layers hanfu, traditional garments that date back centuries — clothing once worn across multiple dynasties.
What’s fascinating is that she wasn’t aware her styling echoed a broader cultural movement happening across China.
“I didn’t realise I was running in parallel with China’s fashion trends,” she explains. “But that’s where my heart was leading.”
THE CAMERA AS A WAY HOME
Alongside her music, Dān Dān has been documenting another journey: returning to China with a camera in hand.
Through a series of quiet video diaries, she captures fleeting moments of everyday life — streets humming with conversation, family meals, landscapes unfolding slowly under the lens.
The approach is intentionally understated.
No dramatic voice-overs.
No cinematic spectacle.
Just still frames that invite the viewer to sit inside the moment.
“I wanted to capture stillness,” she explains. “Almost like a check-in for myself. A moment to be present.”
REWRITING THE STORY OF CHINA
For Dān Dān, these films are also about something deeper.
Growing up in Auckland, she often encountered a narrow version of what China was supposed to be. She experienced this from the age of 16. It was perceived as polluted, overcrowded, and politically rigid.
“That was the image people had,” she says. “Communism. Pollution. Totalitarianism.”
But returning with a camera changed the story. Instead of arguing with those narratives she simply decided , “Instead of telling you what China is like, I’m just going to show you.”
Her footage moves from crystal-clear coastal landscapes to the vertiginous cityscape of Chongqing — a metropolis stacked in vertical layers of highways, apartment blocks and neon.
A country too large, too complex, to fit inside a single narrative.
“China isn’t black and white,” she says. “It’s full of colour.”
WHAT COMES NEXT
Right now, Dān Dān is working on a new EP set to release later this year.
The project expands her visual storytelling even further. It includes two short visual pieces she co-directed. Additionally, there is a full music video shot entirely on film.
For Dān Dān, creativity has never been about fitting neatly into a category.
Musician.
Filmmaker.
Photographer.
She says those labels matter less than the stories themselves.
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