
Denis
Denis Dailleux

biography

French photographer, born in 1958 in Angers, lives in Paris.
Member of VUʼ Agency (Paris), he is represented by the Camera Obscura Gallery (Paris), Galerie 127 (Marrakech) and Galerie Peter Sillem (Frankfurt).
“ Imbued with his distinctive delicacy, Denis Dailleux’s photographic work appears calm on the surface, yet is incredibly demanding, run through by an undercurrent of constant self-doubt and propelled by the essential personal bond he develops with those (and that which) he frames with his camera.
His passion for people has naturally led him to develop portraiture as his preferred means of representing those whose true self he feels an urge to get closer to. Which he has, with actress Catherine Deneuve as well as with countless anonymous subjects from the slums of Cairo, working with the same discretion, waiting to get from his subjects what he is hoping they will offer him, without ever asking for it, simply hoping that it will happen. That is how he has patiently constructed a unique portrait of his beloved Cairo to create, with black and whites of exemplary classicism and colors of rare subtlety, the definite alternative to the heaps of cultural and touristic clichés which clutter our minds. “ (Christian Caujolle)
For a few years now, while continuing to photograph Egypt, Denis Dailleux has regularly travelled to Ghana where he explores new relationships with the body and space, life and death, community and sea, which open up new horizons for his photographic research.
Regularly exhibited and published in the national and international press, his work is the subject of numerous monographs. Denis Dailleux is also the winner of prestigious awards including a World Press Photo – Staged Portraits category for his series “Mère et Fils” in 2014. Moreover, he won in 2019 the Roger Pic Prize awarded by the Scam for his series “In Ghana – We shall meet again“.
Series


Juliette, 2019

Ghana. We Shall Meet Again, 2019

Persan-Beaumont, 2018

Ordinary Journey, 2016

Une odyssée des arômes et des parfums, 2015

Mother and Son, 2014

Egypte, Martyrs of the Révolution, 2012

Son of a King, Portraits of Egypt, 2008

On the Roofs of Cairo, 2006

Morocco, Azemmour People, 2005

On the Footsteps of Rimbaud, in Yemen and Ethiopia, 2004

Habibi Cairo, 1994

Cairo, 1994

People of my Village, 1990

Mullick Ghat, le plus grand marché aux fleurs de l’Inde, 2019

Juliette, 2019

Ghana. We Shall Meet Again, 2019

Persan-Beaumont, 2018

Ordinary Journey, 2016

Une odyssée des arômes et des parfums, 2015

Mother and Son, 2014

Egypte, Martyrs of the Révolution, 2012

Son of a King, Portraits of Egypt, 2008

On the Roofs of Cairo, 2006

Morocco, Azemmour People, 2005

On the Footsteps of Rimbaud, in Yemen and Ethiopia, 2004

Habibi Cairo, 1994

Cairo, 1994

People of my Village, 1990

Mullick Ghat, le plus grand marché aux fleurs de l’Inde, 2019

Juliette, 2019

Ghana. We Shall Meet Again, 2019

Persan-Beaumont, 2018

Ordinary Journey, 2016

Une odyssée des arômes et des parfums, 2015

Mother and Son, 2014

Egypte, Martyrs of the Révolution, 2012

Son of a King, Portraits of Egypt, 2008

On the Roofs of Cairo, 2006

Morocco, Azemmour People, 2005

On the Footsteps of Rimbaud, in Yemen and Ethiopia, 2004

Habibi Cairo, 1994

Cairo, 1994

People of my Village, 1990
vidéos
Mère et Fils, 2014
Juliette et le photographe – Bande-annonce, 2004
Interviews
VISION #36 – Denis Dailleux
Vision(s)
—
Interview by Lily Lajeunesse, 2022
In this interview led by Lily Lajeunesse, Denis Dailleux confides in us. He begins with his initial journey – his childhood, his studies, his move to Paris and his beginnings as a florist. Then, we quickly get into his photographic universe: his projects but also his relation to doubt, his way of building relationships with models and the importance of staging in his work.
L’Œil écoute
Hemeria
—
Interview by Yannick Le Guillanton, 2021
[…] Would Denis Dailleux be like the Egyptians he photographs, a “beggar and proud” photographer? Because one can be poor but elegant, live on little but be proud of one’s destiny and of what one has built with one’s family, upright and dignified in the face of adversity? An attentive observer of society, he is above all a sociologist whose tool is photography. Attracted by the sincerity of his subjects, by their truth, he affirms that “with photography, we cut out the real, we reconstruct a life that can be bearable. [..]
Par les temps qui courent
France Culture
—
Interview by Marie Richeux, 2020
Photographier, c’est s’emparer du corps.
En photographie, il faut prendre, et parfois il y a une urgence à prendre. Il y a des moments où, on sent que tout est en place, et parfois, on le croit, mais c’est une illusion, rien n’est là. En fait, il faut beaucoup de conjonctions pour que tout soit là, mais aussi, en ce qui me concerne, beaucoup de désir.
Paso doble, le grand entretien
France Culture
—
Interview by Tewfik Hakem, 2016
“I wanted to get lost in Ghana, discover another place” Denis Dailleux
Regardez-voir
France Inter
—
Interview by Brigitte Patient, 2014
Egypte, les martyrs de la révolution.
Entrer dans le plus intime de la révolution commencée en janvier 2011, Place Tahrir, au Caire, c’est que ferons ce soir avec les photographies de Denis Dailleux et Fabienne Pavia, éditrice des éditions Le bec en l’air.
L’Atelier de Denis Dailleux au caire (2/2)
France Inter
—
Interview by Vincent Josse, 2011
“Photography is not an obsession, at one point it becomes a necessity, interspersed with moments when I go to see people, for the pleasure of greeting them.” Denis Dailleux
L’Atelier de Denis Dailleux au caire (1/2)
France Inter
—
Interview by Vincent Josse, 2011
“There is a certain amount of manipulation in the image, of course… In photography, we talk about ourselves before we talk about the other, we must not lie to ourselves…” Denis Dailleux
Temps de pose
Arte
—
2011
The photograph Denis Dailleux was in Cairo on February 11, the day of the fall of Mubarak. And yet, the photos he selected for us show not Tahrir’s place, but Egyptians, in their daily lives. Portraits, which allow us to take a different look at the faces behind the headlines.
Exhibitions
Mother and son
–
Destin sensible, Mons-en Baroeularar
–
From 11 January to 8 March 2025
Ghana, we shall meet again
–
Photo Festival Le Guilvinec, Le Guilvinec (FRANCE)
–
From June 1 to September 30, 2021
Années 90, de mon village à Persan
–
Festival L’œil Urbain, Corbeil-Essonnes (FRANCE)
–
From May 27 to July 4, 2021
Ma tante Juliette
–
Cité de l’image de Clervaux, Clervaux (LUXEMBURG)
–
From April 12, 2019 to April 10, 2020
books

Misr

Persan-Beaumont

Givaudan, une odyssée des arômes et des parfums

Ghana

Mères et Fils

Égypte les martyrs de la révolution

Impressions d'Égypte

Fils de Roi, Portraits d'Egypte

Le Caire

Habibi Cairo

Misr

Persan-Beaumont

Givaudan, une odyssée des arômes et des parfums

Ghana

Mères et Fils

Égypte les martyrs de la révolution

Impressions d'Égypte

Fils de Roi, Portraits d'Egypte

Le Caire

Habibi Cairo

Misr

Persan-Beaumont

Givaudan, une odyssée des arômes et des parfums

Ghana

Mères et Fils

Égypte les martyrs de la révolution

Impressions d'Égypte

Fils de Roi, Portraits d'Egypte

Le Caire

Habibi Cairo
Awards

Roger Pic Award | SCAM (France)
For his subject “Ghana, We shall meet again “
2019

World Press Photo (Netherlands)
2nd Prize, category Staged Portraits for his subject « Mother and Son »
2014

World Press Photo (Netherlands)
1st Prize for the category “Portrait stories” for his subject “Egypt, Cairo”
2000

Vevey’s city Hasselblad Prize (Switzerland)
For his subject « Mouleds »
2000

Prize of Filigranes Edition « Monographs » (France)
For his book “Habibi Cairo”
1997