The artist's fieldwork has led her to scrutinise female communities and their dress codes as performative apparel in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Indonesia, China and Sardinia (Photo: Shawn Lor)
Options: Tell us a little about your participation in the ongoing Head On Photo Festival in Sydney, Australia. How did you come to know about it?
Diana Lui: Max Pam, a well-known Australian photographer, told me. Upon his advice, I applied for the festival’s call for new exhibitors in its 14th annual edition this month. And to my happy surprise, I was chosen!
The show is titled Sakti. Tell us about the works you are exhibiting.
Most of the exhibitions organised by Head On take place outdoors around Sydney, so I suggested portraits that had a “monumental” aura to them. One image of mine in particular not only has that aesthetic but was also constructed like a monument. Amira, the Revolutionary Bride, represented the state of Tunisia two years after the Jasmine Revolution/Arab Spring. I was doing an artist’s residency in collaboration with the French Institute of Tunisia and spent six months there on and off in 2013. Tunisia was half built and half destroyed. There was a clear divide between the government and its people; most official administrative buildings were barricaded with sand-filled construction bags and military barbed wire, the same materials I used to make Amira’s bridal costume. This portrait and its performative costume spoke to me of the current state of the country’s population, overtaken by political upheaval and corruption yet remaining resilient and strong against the odds. There will also be other portraits of the same identity-questioning nature from my Tunisian and Moroccan series.
What’s next on the creative cards for you?
I’m working on my very first monograph. I’ve always had catalogues from past artist residencies and exhibitions, but no book of my own making! Finally, I am going through some 30 years of photographic work and will share with the world my intimate relationship with photography and how it provided me a creative space to evolve as an individual who unceasingly questions the validity of her identity, more accurately her multiple shape-shifting identities, in due course.
sakti.jpg
When was your last exhibition in your tanah air and is there a next one in the offing?
My last solo exhibition in KL was with Wei-Ling Gallery just at the beginning of Covid-19 in 2020. Fortunately, Wei Ling was able to secure a few sales where part of the proceeds was given to the Orang Asli from the Temiar Community in Gerik in order to build schools in their village for the very young. I don’t have anything lined up for KL as yet as one just concluded in Paris last week at the Hôtel de L’Industrie in the 6th arrondissement.
You are a Petaling Jaya girl. What do you miss most about home?
My mum, siblings, nephew and nieces, the weather, the flora and fauna and, last but not least, the food, especially my beloved fruit, durian!
What are your greatest sources of inspiration?
Astrophysics, geology, botany, nature, spiritual art and our planet itself.
What are you reading right now?
I read several books at a time, depending on my mood. At the moment, I am on three. For hydrogeology and geopolitics with a smattering of adventure, Water and Peace by French explorer and scientist Alain Gachet, dubbed the “Water Wizard”; for visual and spiritual stimuli, Elements by Stephen Ellcock; for an artist’s biography, The Contingency of Eye Contact, A Memoir 1970-1975 by Max Pam, the aforementioned Australian photographer.
What are you listening to right now?
If You Want Me by electronic duo Röyksopp.
What else do you hope to achieve, see, do and experience while in Australia?
Total immersion in nature, which is something I love so much about this island continent. Its natural world, in terms of flora and fauna, is more creative and unique than anything I’ve seen so far during my travels.
You live in Montreuil, Paris — one of the city’s artistic enclaves. What is your favourite way to spend a weekend at home?
Reading, dreaming, dancing, writing in my different diaries — all of which have different purposes — writing up my next art project, planning the next travel adventure, drawing, cleaning, cooking, chilling with my French cat Naos, listening to music and meditating. I am a real hermit on weekends.
Paris is one of the greatest destinations for art and culture. What are your top three recommendations to see right now?
It would have to be Surréalisme at the Centre Pompidou. It is very well curated, educational and accessible for the larger public. Also, it’s good to visit as the museum will close soon for five years for seriously needed renovations. Second would be Arte Povera at the Bourse de Commerce for many reasons. It was a very interesting period in art history for me, plus it features Giuseppe Penone, one of my favourite artists. Overall, it is simply a wonderful collection by the Pinault family, owner and patron of the arts of the museum. I also think its architecture is stunning. I love anything circular and this is an exceptional building right in the heart of Paris. Thirdly, it would be Olga de Amaral at the Fondation Cartier. I love experimenting with textiles in art and this monumental Colombian artist continues in that tradition of feminine perseverance. I also say to come here as the foundation will move to the Place du Palais Royal, next to the Louvre, late next year.
The Head On Photo Festival runs until Dec 1 in Sydney, Australia. See here for more info.
This article first appeared on Nov 11, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
