French Artist Delphine Diallo at Chennai Photo Biennale 2025

Brooklyn-based Delphine Diallo is a celebrated photographer and visual storyteller known for her powerful and transformative imagery. Through her work, she challenges biased representations of women, particularly Black women, by creating goddess-like figures that celebrate beauty, strength, and authenticity. Inspired by renowned photographer Peter Beard, her art merges photography, body paint, jewelry, and unique attire, elevating women as symbols of empowerment.

The “Kingdom of Kush” series

One of Diallo’s most notable projects, The “Kingdom of Kush” series, merges photography with artificial intelligence (AI)—which she calls “ancestral intelligence.” This series reimagines African history by focusing on the ancient Kingdom of Kush, a civilization often overlooked in mainstream narratives. Diallo draws from her French and Senegalese heritage, using AI to create evocative landscapes that honor African civilization. The collection offers a counter-narrative to cultural marginalization, exploring the intersection of African mythology, technology, and decolonized representation.

Diallo’s presence at the Chennai Photo Biennale 2025, both as an artist and educator, reinforces her commitment to empowerment, cultural heritage, and representation. Her work continues to spark discussions on identity, history, and the role of technology in shaping the future.

Workshop: The Collage as a Visual Narrative

In addition to her exhibition at the Chennai Photo Biennale 2025, renowned French-Senegalese photographer Delphine Diallo led an exclusive collage-making workshop on January 24, 2025, at the Alliance Française of Madras. Titled The Collage as a Visual Narrative, the workshop provided participants with a hands-on opportunity to explore collage as a powerful storytelling medium.

Drawing from her expertise in merging traditional art techniques with digital innovation, Diallo guided attendees in crafting visual narratives that challenge beauty norms and amplify marginalized voices, particularly those of Black women. This immersive workshop reinforced Diallo’s commitment to using art, photography, and mixed media as tools for cultural representation, empowerment, and social change.

The Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation (CPBF) is a key player in the global contemporary art scene, built on four pillars: CPB Prism (student education), CPB Learning Lab (workshops and discussions), CPBx (residencies and collaborations), and the Chennai Photo Biennale.

The Foundation is committed to amplifying underrepresented voices, promoting photography as a vital tool for self-expression, and facilitating socio-political and cultural dialogues through workshops, exhibitions, and critical discourse.

The Chennai Photo Biennale, one of India’s most prestigious photography festivals, brings together international and Indian artists to celebrate the power of photography as a tool for social change. Founded in 2016, the Biennale serves as a platform for photographers, curators, and artists to explore critical issues through visual storytelling.

Diallo’s participation in this year’s event highlights the global impact of her work, which resonates deeply with the Biennale’s mission to foster inclusivity, diversity, and dialogue through the art of photography.

Photos © Chennai Photo Biennale