CV
DIANA
LUI
Artist · Photographer · Filmmaker
BORN: Malaysia, May 7th, 1968, lives and works in Paris, France & Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Fine Arts
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California, USA
SELECTED SOLO EXIBITIONS
2022
Galerie Huit, Arles - Śākti, early works from the 1990’s - a search for identity through the Malaysian performance arts scene, vintage prints
2020
Wei Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - I Will Not Give Names To Trees - exhibition dedicated to trees in several mediums: analog photographs, ink drawings, ink and ash paintings, mini sculptures made of seeds, roots and tree bark. Part of proceeds from sale go to the Malaysia’s rainforest indigenous tribes to build schools
2016
Museum of Contemporary Art Les Abattoirs, Toulouse, France – Les Etoiles de Diana (Diana’s Stars), Résidence 1+2 - exhibition and photography book under the same title, 80 pages, edited by Editions Filigranes, Paris
Galerie Carole Decombe, Los Angeles, California – photography exhibition in new gallery
2015
George Town Festival, Penang Island, Malaysia – Totem – a photographic exploration on women's contemporary and traditional identities in multicultural and multiracial Malaysia
Obscura Festival of Photography, Penang Island, Malaysia – The Essential Veil – photographs on the diverse and rich symbolic meanings of the traditional costume in Moroccan culture
Alliance Française de Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & Alliance Française de Singapour – Totem – travelling exhibition, a photographic exploration on women's contemporary and traditional identities in multicultural and multiracial Malaysia, accompanied by talks and conferences
Wei Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Feminine Beyond - nude portraits of women and portraits of women in traditional Moroccan costumes
2013-2014
Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris - L'Envers des Corps – between tradition and revolution, a contemporary portrait on Tunisian women
2013
Galerie Carole Decombe, Paris - Cities of the Immortals – photogravures - photographs from the Trans-Mongolian, Trans-Tibetan and China
Galerie Carole Decombe, Paris – Carrément Audacieux (Squarely Audacious) – black and white portraits from the Intimate Portraits series
2012
Galerija Fotografija, Ljubljana - The Feminine Beyond - nude portraits of women and portraits of women in traditional Moroccan costumes
Galerie Carole Decombe, Paris - Sensations
MIA Art Fair, Superstudio Più, Milan - Galerija Fotografija
2011
Institut Français, Fez, Morocco - Le Voile Essentiel - II - photos & on site installation - continuing series on the semantics of veiled and traditional costumes in Morocco
2010
Galerie 127, Marrakesh – Le Voile Essentiel - photo, video & installation - research on traditional Moroccan costumes
Château Maisons-Laffitte – Pur Sang - photos & installation, catalogue 75 pages, Editions Filigranes
Sentier du Rhône - Rivière Infinie - artist residence and outdoor installation - 15-meter long mirror installed at the entrance of an 18th century bridge, Pont Rochemaure, in the Ardèche region.
Galerie Sponte, Paris - Intemporel
2009
Galerie Sponte, Paris - Photographe sous influences
2008
Galerie Sinitude, Paris - Femmes, Arbres et Hommes
Shanghai Art Museum, China - Another Voice...We - first exhibit in a major Chinese museum by int'l contemporary women artists, 144 pg. catalogue
2007
Guangdong Museum of Art, China - Cities of the Immortals - 86 pg. hardcover catalogue
HOP Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia - Merimetsan Alchemy - social art therapy project & photo exhibition
Conservatoire du Cap Corse, Canari, Corsica – photos & short film - portraits of Corsicans in 18th century costumes – permanent exhibition
2006
Galerija Fotografija, Ljubljana - Trees, Individuals, and Sexuality - black & white portraits, with the collaboration of Institut Français Charles Nodier
Aura Gallery, Shanghai - Trees, Individuals, and Sexuality - black & white portraits - 86 pg. catalogue
2005
Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela – Retratos Intimos - large format black & white portraits - 95 pg. catalogue
2004
Fototeca & Cineteca of Monterrey, Mexico – Sensations - color portraits, short films, with the support of the Alliance Française de Monterrey
2003
Galerie Picto Montparnasse – 20ème Bourse du Talent, Paris - winner of black and white portraits (8X10 inch view camera)
Galerie Cathay, Paris – Portraits Intimes
Bibliothèque Robert Desnos, Montreuil
2002
Galerie Picto Montparnasse, Paris - ICÔNES
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
Musée du Bois, Revel - Printemps de l’Arbre - exhibition dedicated entirely to trees, photography, painting, sculpture & installation. Photographers exhibiting : Olivier Culmann, Klavdij Sluban, Michael Kenna, Bruno Réquillart & Jean Dieuzaide
2021
Galerie Beau nom f. Belle nom m., Arles, France - Vénus, ma Vénus d’Arles - group exhibition of photography, painting and installation art proposed by Pia Copper, curator specialising in Asian contemporary art
2020
Galerie 127, Montreuil (93), France - opening of new gallery space
2018
Paris Photo, Nef du Grand Palais - international contemporary photography fair, stand Galerie 127, Maroc
2017
Musée Paul Dupuy, Toulouse - group exhibition of works produced during artist residency, Résidence 1+2, from 2016 and 2017 editions
KL BIENNALE - National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, first art biennale of Malaysia, over 100 local and overseas artists exhibiting - Totem, an artist book in 8 triptychs, with photographs and text all hand-bound, gold embossed with hand-woven songket from Borneo
Musée Paul Dupuy, Toulouse, France – Les Etoiles de Diana, Résidence 1+2 - group exhibition from a multi-disciplinary artist residence, Résidence 1+2 Toulouse
ARTS ELYSEES/Paris, AKAA/Paris(Also Known As Africa) - contemporary art fairs
Galerie Carole Decombe, Paris – Des Femmes en Or - this year's annual theme organised by Paris' antiquarian and art district Carré Rive Gauche is dedicated to everything “Gold” from photography, painting, furniture, decorative objects to designer lights
2016
Galerie Huit, Arles, France - WUNDERKAMMER III - artist book Totem, presented during Rencontres d'Arles Festival, a limited edition artist book handmade by artisans from Malaysian Borneo and Paris, with portraits of Malaysian women, handwoven silk and gold fabric, hand-bound and title embossed with gold
Galerie Carole Decombe, Paris – Femmes! Femmes! Femmes! - this year's annual theme organised by Paris' antiquarian and art district Carré Rive Gauche is dedicated to “Women”, sculptures, photography and signed vintage designer lights and furniture from Denmark.
Paris Photo, Nef du Grand Palais - booksigning of Les Etoiles de Diana éd. Filigranes with the support of Résidence 1+2, Toulouse
2015
Black Box Gallery, MAP Publika, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - PERSON(A) - “AUM #0”, a life-size photogram of the artist presented in a large light-box installation, is part of 20 Malaysian artists works on the “self”, images of Malaysian personas, through personal inquiries shaped by social, political, geographical and technological states
2014
Mois de la Photo à Paris, Espace Photographique de l'Hôtel de Sauroy - Un Maroc raconté autrement – Photographie Méditerranéenne (A Different Tale of Morocco – Mediterranean Photography) organised by Galerie 127, Morocco
2013
Fotopub Festival, Slovenia
Jakev dom Museum, Novo Mesto, Slovenia - Medusas - portraits of an uprooted and hybrid generation
2012
Fotofever, Tour & Taxis, Bruxelles – Galerie 127
Marsio Fine Art Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia - When East Meets East - photographs by Diana Lui and Klavdij Sluban
2011
Dali International Photography Exhibition, Yunnan Province, China – Vu de France
Paris Photo, Grand Palais – Galerija Fotografija - presentation of 2 portfolios edited by Editions Chez Higgins, Les Méduses (D.Lui) and Chez Robert Frank (D.Lui & K.Sluban)
Fotofever, Espace Pierre Cardin – Galerie 127
Marrakech Art Fair, Palace Es Saadi – Galerie 127
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, St Niklaas, Belgique – Heart Outside Body - an exhibition by reknowned chinese artists in the contemporary art scene (Huang Rui, Ai Ke…) on the detachment and attachment to the Chinese culture, their maternal culture
2010
Paris Photo, Carrousel du Louvre – Galerija Fotografija
Marrakech Art Fair, Palace Es Saadi – Galerie 127
2009
Valentine Willie Fine Art gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Cut 09 - the photographic body in S.E. Asia (photographers include Manit Sriwanichpoom, I-Lann Yee, David Linggar)
Valentine Willie Fine Art gallery , Singapore - Cut 09
PhotoBeijing/ArtBeijing Fair, China
Galerie Lipao Huang, Paris – Paris-Pékin - photographs by Marc Riboud, Klavdij Sluban & Diana Lui
Art Show/AVIFF Film Festival, Cannes, France - photo exhibition and projection of short film Four Play in competition
2008
Galerie Sponte Paris - large format color photographs
Huachen Auctions, Beijing, China
ArtBeijing Fair, China
Dashanbao Art Festival, Yunnan Province, China
2007
ArtCurial Auctions, Paris
Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn, Estonia - Sex Market - int’l exhibit on the rise of prostitution in Eastern Europe
Festival DesignMai, Berlin
2006
Agnès B. , London - Chance - a curatorial exercise - curated by art magazine Chance Jerwood Space, London - Blurred Certainty - the photographic image and digital manipulation
Musée de la Photographie à Charleroi, Belgium - 15ème Prix Nationale Photographie Ouverte - Exhibition of winners
Lianzhou International Photo Festival, China
2004
Beijing’s Millenium Museum for Contemporary Art - 3rd Ping Yao Int'l Festival of Photography
2003
The 3rd Ping Yao International Festival of Photography, China
La Bourse du Talent - Espace Picto Montparnasse, Paris - exhibition by the winners
1987
Eros and Thanatos - exhibition of portraits from Malaysia
AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, COMMISSIONS, ARTIST RESIDENCES
2022
Festival Planches Contact, Deauville, France - 13th edition, artist residence in Normandy with 9 other artists, photographers & filmmakers, group exhibition at Les Franciscaines and other venues in Deauville from October to January 2023.
︎︎︎Artist project : Joan of Arc and her contemporaries, portraits of women in very large format with accompanying texts, an in situ installation at the Grand Bain de Deauville
2016
1+2 Toulouse – first edition, artist residence in Toulouse centered on mentorship and creation between 3 photographers, a renown photographer and two young budding photographers, a large exhibition will culminate in the 6-week residence between Toulouse, Brussels and Barcelona
2015
Alliances Françaises de Kuala Lumpur & de Singapour – part funding & artist residence for photography project and exhibition Totem
2011
Dar Batha, French Institute, Fez, Morocco - artist in residence
2010
Château Maisons-Laffitte – Pur Sang - photos & installation, artist residence, catalogue 75pages, Editions Filigranes
Sentier du Rhône – artist residence and outdoor installation: Rivière Infinie - 15 meter long wavy mirror installed at the entrance of an 18th century bridge, Pont Rochemaure, in the Ardeche region.
Valentine Willie Gallery Artist Residence in Bali, Indonesia
2009
Rimbun Dahan, Center for traditional & contemporary art forms, Malaysia - artist in residence
Riad Denise Masson, French Institute, Marrakesh, Morocco - artist in residence
2008
Concours du Consulat Général de France, Shanghai, China - artist residence/scholarship for art installation projet Another Voice exhibit in situ at the Shanghai Art Museum
Fondation HSBC pour la Photographie, Paris, France - finalist
2007
Bourse du Centre Culturel Français, Tallinn, Estonia - scholarship for exhibition and art as therapy project Merimetsan Alchemy
Conservatoire du Cap Corse, Canari, Corsica - portraits of Corsicans in costumes from the 18th century, commissioned by the museum for its permanent exhibition
2006
15ème Prix National Photographie Ouverte organised by the Musée de la Photographie à Charleroi(Belgium) - winner for black & white nude portraits
2005
Prix FNAC Européen de la Photographie 2005(Belgium) - finalist
2003
Prix Kodak de la Critique Photographique 2003(France) - second place
Winner of LA 20ÈME BOURSE DU TALENT(France) - on the theme Portraits dans tous les états
2000
SEARCH FOR ART(Europe) - Mandarina Duck Competition - semi-finalist and published together with 100 young international contemporary artists
1999
LA 5èME BOURSE DU TALENT(France) - finalist
1994
FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE LA PHOTO DE MODE (Carrousel du Louvre, Paris) Winner of Best Young Talent - Kaleidoscope [Kodak & Nikon Prize]
1989
UCLA CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION – Altered States of Ambiguity - Commissioned installation art for exhibtion and collection by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - a triptych of mixed media & photographs (silver bromide prints, bamboo, wood, Japanese paper, Chinese ink)
PERMANENT PUBLIC COLLECTION (non-exhaustive)
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
Guangdong Museum of Art, China
Musée de la Photographie à Charleroi, Belgium
Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela
Fototeca de Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Conservatoire du Cap Corse de Canari, France
CEDIM Design and Visual Arts Institute, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Mairie de Ping Yao, Shantung Province, China
Mairie de Montreuil, Paris, France
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Marrakech
PRIVATE COLLECTION :
King Mohammed VI from Morocco
Auguste & Debousy, Paris
Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech
A’Selham, Doha
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Totem, an artist book - 8 triptychs, photographs and text printed on Japanese kozo paper, hand-bound, gold embossed with hand-woven silk, gold and metallic threads called songket from Borneo, self-published, Paris and Malaysia 2016
Les Etoiles de Diana (Diana’s Stars), photos and text by Diana Lui, 80 pages, softcover, in collaboration with artist residence Résidence 1+2 Toulouse, Editions Filigranes, Paris 2016
Chez Robert Frank, photos and text by Diana Lui & Klavdij Sluban, collectors’ portfolio of 15 original prints, Editions Chez Higgins, Collection Témoignages, Paris 2011
Les Méduses, text by Anne Biroleau-Lemagny (general curator, Bibliothèque National de France), collectors’ portfolio of 15 original prints, Editions Chez Higgins, Collection Vanités, Paris 2011
Pur-Sang, Diana Lui & Klavdij Sluban, text by Thierry Dumanoir (curator), 70 pages, hardcover. Centre des Monuments Nationaux/Editions Filigranes, Hors Collection, Paris 2010
Another Voice, We... , text by Xiao Xiao Lan (curator), 144 pages. Shanghai Art Museum, 2008
Cities of the Immortals, text by Richard Vine (Managing Editor, Art in America, New York) and Jean Loh (curator), 86 pages, hardcover. Guangdong Museum of Art, Beaugeste Editions, Shanghai, 2007
Trees, Individuals & Sexuality, 86 pages. Aura Gallery, Shanghai, 2006
Retratos Intimos, text by Tomás Rodríguez Soto (curator) and Adam Beinash (Art & Auction, New York), 96 pages. Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas, Venezuela, 2005
PRESS (selection)
Options The Edge (Malaysia)-Behind The Lens, cover story, April 2020; Asian Geographic(Singapore)-Diana, a totem of her generation, Issue°3, N°44, 2016; Sunday Star 2(Malaysia)-Search for Identity, 16th August, 2015; Télématin France 2-L’envers des corps, à travers la Tunisie d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, présenté par Thomas Hervé, émission (30/01/2014); En Sol Majeur RFI-Diana Lui, présenté par Yasmine Chouaki, émission (02/04/2013); Mladina(Slovénie)-Diana Lui - priznana fotografinja,..(weekly news magazine, N°29, 19/07/2013); L’OFFICEL(Maroc) – Portraits (Dé)voiles, portfolio – avril 2011; Réponses Photo(France) – Hors Série N°9 Les Mystères du Portrait, 2010; MANGAZINE(Chine)-Another Voice, We..., Septembre 2008; VISION(Chine) - Roots - portraits - November 2007; EL UNIVERSAL(Venezuela)/janvier 2005, EL NACIONAL(Venezuela)/février 2005, ARTE AL DIA(Venezuela)/mars 2005 - journaux nationaux et magazines culturels, articles & critiques sur l’exposition au Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas
FILMOGRAPHY 2009-2010
MISS HOMELESS – long experimental film on a controversial “beauty” contest for the homeless that took place in Belgium in 2009 (in the making)
2004 - 2006
AN ISLAND FOR MONKEYS – Short film (16mm b&w, color, 30 minutes) exploring the poetic and rational minds of mental patients abandoned on an island
2001
FOUR PLAY – Short film (16 mm b&w, color, 8 minutes), reveals how social and sexual hierarchies are established through the capoeira, a Brazilian martial art/dance - official selection at the 2002 International Women Film Festival Créteil (Paris) France, 2009 Art Show/AVIFF Film Festival, Cannes, France
WORKSHOPS & CONFERENCES (selection)
2008 - 2022
FRANCE
Festival des Rencontres de la Photographie d'Arles, France - photography workshop Exprimer sa sensibilité / An Intimate Nature on the many experimental ways of representing the “self” or “other”
2016
Toulouse - conferences, workshops
- Espace Saint-Cyprien - photo workshop, organised by Résidence 1+2
- Espace Saint-Cyprien - conference, organised by ETPA, Ecole de Photographie et Game Design
- Centre Culturel de Bellegarde - video and photography workshop Autoportrait & the New Narrative
- Musée les Abattoirs - conferences & seminars, organised by Résidence 1+2
2015
Photo-Forum, Metz - conference and photo workshop
2015
MALAYSIA
Obscura Festival of Photography, Penang Island – The New Narrative – storytelling in the 21st Century, an experimental workshop that looks at other forms of the visual and oral narrative, namely the moving image and sound to find new ways to tell stories
Alliance Française de Kuala Lumpur – artist talk Seeing Beyond the “I”, panel discussion Women in Malaysia Today with Marion D'Cruz(renown educator and choreographer in Malaysia), Colin Nicholas(activist and director of COAC, Center for Orang Asli Concerns, January Low(dancer of traditional Indian dance Odissi), Laura Fan(art historian and art critic)
INDONESIA
OKTAGON, Jakarta - workshop
SLOVENIA
Fotopub festival - photography workshop
Galerija Fotografija - Defining your photographic identity, workshop
2004 – 2007
CHINA
Guangdong Museum of Art - artist talk, conference
MEXICO
CEDIM Design and Visual Arts Institute, Monterrey
- workshop, Images from our Daily Life, deciphering and developing a higher consciousness of images from the advertising world today
- workshop, The Intuitive Eye, developing and trusting our intuition through the camera in different environmental and emotional conditions
ESTONIA
Merimetsa Rehabilitation Center, Tallinn - photo workshop with patients followed by their exhibition
VENEZUELA
Museo de Bellas Artes & ONG(Nelson Garrido Art Institute), Caracas - artist talk, conference & portfolio review workshop
INDONESIA
Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta - artist talk, workshop & portfolio review
1988, 1994, 2009, 2011
MALAYSIA
Malaysian Institute of Arts(MIA), Kuala Lumpur - artist talks