Denis
Dailleux

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

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

The Calcutta Flower Market, also known as Mullick Ghat, is the largest in India and one of the largest in the world. It spreads along the banks of the Hooghly, the western branch of the Ganges, just below the impressive Howrah Bridge.

Juliette, 2019

In the childhood village of Denis Dailleux, in Anjou, lived a woman of character, a true character of a novel: Juliette, her great-aunt, who died in 2017 at the age of 100.

Ghana. We Shall Meet Again, 2019

Denis Dailleux is known for the portrait of Egypt which he has been developing for over fifteen years.

Persan-Beaumont, 2018

An immersion in a council estate in the late 1980s

Ordinary Journey, 2016

Denis Dailleux, who has made Egypt his favourite topic since more than 15 years, immersed himself in Cairo popular districts to make the portrait of tuk-tuk drivers.

Une odyssée des arômes et des parfums, 2015

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the famous perfume institution Maison Givaudan, Denis Dailleux followed the path of the most precious essences which can extracted from nature.

Mother and Son, 2014

A most Christ-like image, a bare-chested son rests near his mother. Why does this image of the mother-son relationship move us so? Because the son, by his nudity, looks as fragile as he was on the day of his birth?

Egypte, Martyrs of the Révolution, 2012

Through his photographs, Denis Dailleux pays tribute to the martyrs, men and women – often young – who lost their lives in the Egyptian Revolution of 28 January 2011, victims of police violence and pro-Mubarak militia.

Son of a King, Portraits of Egypt, 2008

Son of a king... Son of Pharaoh, son of a history that has stood still, in balance for three or four thousand years, and which, for a century or two, has been shaking backwards towards a chaos of which no one can guess the extent.

On the Roofs of Cairo, 2006

In the egyptian capital, the only place to live for thousands of inhabitants is the top of the buildings. A whole world invisible from the street, lives in makeshift tiny villages, in the open.

Morocco, Azemmour People, 2005

Azemmour is a Moroccan city, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca.

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

Leaving in man's shadow with soles of wind as a pretext. Discover a little-known Africa and meet its inhabitants as the ultimate goal.

Habibi Cairo, 1994

These faces of children, men and women, imprints of poetry and affection take us to the neighborhoods where these families live. The delicate and sensitive eye of a photographer craves for meaning beyond the mundane.

Cairo, 1994

Between Denis Dailleux and Cairo, it is a true love story : on one side, an insatiable fascination for this unique place, its mood, its magical lights and an unspeakable tenderess towards its inhabitants 

People of my Village, 1990

This series of black and white portraits represents the people around whom Denis Dailleux grew up, between love and hate. Taken when he was 25 years old and full of doubts, the project is an upheaval in the photographer's work.

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

The Calcutta Flower Market, also known as Mullick Ghat, is the largest in India and one of the largest in the world. It spreads along the banks of the Hooghly, the western branch of the Ganges, just below the impressive Howrah Bridge.

Juliette, 2019

In the childhood village of Denis Dailleux, in Anjou, lived a woman of character, a true character of a novel: Juliette, her great-aunt, who died in 2017 at the age of 100.

Ghana. We Shall Meet Again, 2019

Denis Dailleux is known for the portrait of Egypt which he has been developing for over fifteen years.

Persan-Beaumont, 2018

An immersion in a council estate in the late 1980s

Ordinary Journey, 2016

Denis Dailleux, who has made Egypt his favourite topic since more than 15 years, immersed himself in Cairo popular districts to make the portrait of tuk-tuk drivers.

Une odyssée des arômes et des parfums, 2015

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the famous perfume institution Maison Givaudan, Denis Dailleux followed the path of the most precious essences which can extracted from nature.

Mother and Son, 2014

A most Christ-like image, a bare-chested son rests near his mother. Why does this image of the mother-son relationship move us so? Because the son, by his nudity, looks as fragile as he was on the day of his birth?

Egypte, Martyrs of the Révolution, 2012

Through his photographs, Denis Dailleux pays tribute to the martyrs, men and women – often young – who lost their lives in the Egyptian Revolution of 28 January 2011, victims of police violence and pro-Mubarak militia.

Son of a King, Portraits of Egypt, 2008

Son of a king... Son of Pharaoh, son of a history that has stood still, in balance for three or four thousand years, and which, for a century or two, has been shaking backwards towards a chaos of which no one can guess the extent.

On the Roofs of Cairo, 2006

In the egyptian capital, the only place to live for thousands of inhabitants is the top of the buildings. A whole world invisible from the street, lives in makeshift tiny villages, in the open.

Morocco, Azemmour People, 2005

Azemmour is a Moroccan city, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca.

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

Leaving in man's shadow with soles of wind as a pretext. Discover a little-known Africa and meet its inhabitants as the ultimate goal.

Habibi Cairo, 1994

These faces of children, men and women, imprints of poetry and affection take us to the neighborhoods where these families live. The delicate and sensitive eye of a photographer craves for meaning beyond the mundane.

Cairo, 1994

Between Denis Dailleux and Cairo, it is a true love story : on one side, an insatiable fascination for this unique place, its mood, its magical lights and an unspeakable tenderess towards its inhabitants 

People of my Village, 1990

This series of black and white portraits represents the people around whom Denis Dailleux grew up, between love and hate. Taken when he was 25 years old and full of doubts, the project is an upheaval in the photographer's work.

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

The Calcutta Flower Market, also known as Mullick Ghat, is the largest in India and one of the largest in the world. It spreads along the banks of the Hooghly, the western branch of the Ganges, just below the impressive Howrah Bridge.

Juliette, 2019

In the childhood village of Denis Dailleux, in Anjou, lived a woman of character, a true character of a novel: Juliette, her great-aunt, who died in 2017 at the age of 100.

Ghana. We Shall Meet Again, 2019

Denis Dailleux is known for the portrait of Egypt which he has been developing for over fifteen years.

Persan-Beaumont, 2018

An immersion in a council estate in the late 1980s

Ordinary Journey, 2016

Denis Dailleux, who has made Egypt his favourite topic since more than 15 years, immersed himself in Cairo popular districts to make the portrait of tuk-tuk drivers.

Une odyssée des arômes et des parfums, 2015

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the famous perfume institution Maison Givaudan, Denis Dailleux followed the path of the most precious essences which can extracted from nature.

Mother and Son, 2014

A most Christ-like image, a bare-chested son rests near his mother. Why does this image of the mother-son relationship move us so? Because the son, by his nudity, looks as fragile as he was on the day of his birth?

Egypte, Martyrs of the Révolution, 2012

Through his photographs, Denis Dailleux pays tribute to the martyrs, men and women – often young – who lost their lives in the Egyptian Revolution of 28 January 2011, victims of police violence and pro-Mubarak militia.

Son of a King, Portraits of Egypt, 2008

Son of a king... Son of Pharaoh, son of a history that has stood still, in balance for three or four thousand years, and which, for a century or two, has been shaking backwards towards a chaos of which no one can guess the extent.

On the Roofs of Cairo, 2006

In the egyptian capital, the only place to live for thousands of inhabitants is the top of the buildings. A whole world invisible from the street, lives in makeshift tiny villages, in the open.

Morocco, Azemmour People, 2005

Azemmour is a Moroccan city, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca.

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

Leaving in man's shadow with soles of wind as a pretext. Discover a little-known Africa and meet its inhabitants as the ultimate goal.

Habibi Cairo, 1994

These faces of children, men and women, imprints of poetry and affection take us to the neighborhoods where these families live. The delicate and sensitive eye of a photographer craves for meaning beyond the mundane.

Cairo, 1994

Between Denis Dailleux and Cairo, it is a true love story : on one side, an insatiable fascination for this unique place, its mood, its magical lights and an unspeakable tenderess towards its inhabitants 

People of my Village, 1990

This series of black and white portraits represents the people around whom Denis Dailleux grew up, between love and hate. Taken when he was 25 years old and full of doubts, the project is an upheaval in the photographer's work.

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.

Listen

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. [..]

Listen

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.

Listen

Paso doble, le grand entretien
France Culture
—
Interview by Tewfik Hakem, 2016

“I wanted to get lost in Ghana, discover another place” Denis Dailleux

Listen

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.

Listen

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

Listen

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

Listen

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

More informations

MISR
–
Abbaye Royale de l’Epau
–
From June 21 to November 6, 2023

More informations

Ghana, we shall meet again
–
Photo Festival Le Guilvinec, Le Guilvinec (FRANCE)
–
From June 1 to September 30, 2021

More informations

Années 90, de mon village à Persan
–
Festival L’œil Urbain, Corbeil-Essonnes (FRANCE)
–
From May 27 to July 4, 2021

More informations

Ma tante Juliette
–
Cité de l’image de Clervaux, Clervaux (LUXEMBURG)
–
From April 12, 2019 to April 10, 2020

More informations

books

Misr

Le bec en l'air - 2022

Persan-Beaumont

Le Bec en l'air - 2018

Givaudan, une odyssée des arômes et des parfums

Editions de La Martinière - 2016

Ghana

Le Bec en l’air - 2016

Mères et Fils

Le Bec en l’air - 2014

Égypte les martyrs de la révolution

Le Bec en l'air - 2014

Impressions d'Égypte

Editions de la Martinière - 2011

Fils de Roi, Portraits d'Egypte

Gallimard - 2008

Le Caire

Le Chêne - 2001

Habibi Cairo

Filigranes - 1997

Misr

Le bec en l'air - 2022

Persan-Beaumont

Le Bec en l'air - 2018

Givaudan, une odyssée des arômes et des parfums

Editions de La Martinière - 2016

Ghana

Le Bec en l’air - 2016

Mères et Fils

Le Bec en l’air - 2014

Égypte les martyrs de la révolution

Le Bec en l'air - 2014

Impressions d'Égypte

Editions de la Martinière - 2011

Fils de Roi, Portraits d'Egypte

Gallimard - 2008

Le Caire

Le Chêne - 2001

Habibi Cairo

Filigranes - 1997

Misr

Le bec en l'air - 2022

Persan-Beaumont

Le Bec en l'air - 2018

Givaudan, une odyssée des arômes et des parfums

Editions de La Martinière - 2016

Ghana

Le Bec en l’air - 2016

Mères et Fils

Le Bec en l’air - 2014

Égypte les martyrs de la révolution

Le Bec en l'air - 2014

Impressions d'Égypte

Editions de la Martinière - 2011

Fils de Roi, Portraits d'Egypte

Gallimard - 2008

Le Caire

Le Chêne - 2001

Habibi Cairo

Filigranes - 1997

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