Diana Lui's camera is considered by artists today too difficult to use because of its bulky form, weight and its lack of mechanical flexibility.

However, the Malaysia-born Chinese photographer has used this large format camera to produce many female portraits that are regarded as better than those from digital cameras.

Packing her large 810 view camera, Lui began traveling around the world some 14 years ago. She then transformed her images into life-size prints (up to two meters high) for exhibitions in many art festivals, galleries and museums.

A total of 88 such portraits are on display at the Guangzhou-based Guangdong Art Museum after their first viewing in the ancient town of Pingyao of Shanxi Province at an international photography festival in 2003. The show runs until April 15.

"I tried to capture the inner thoughts of the people I have met during travels. These works reflect a strong combination of human beings and the environment," Lui said.

While many of her works have been snapped up by private collectors, museums and art institutes worldwide, Lui hopes to eventually install her works in public places, such as walls along public streets and historical buildings.

"The idea of this public project is to allow people to become aware of their primordial existence in this world where their lives are usually governed daily by racial, social, cultural, political and economical structures," she said.

Diana is also passionate about filmmaking, which she defines as today's "story-telling".

In collaboration with the New York Film Academy, her first short film was made in 2002, revealing how social and sexual hierarchies are established through the Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art and dance.

"In both her photography and film, you sense the oriental philosophy of 'the unity of heaven and human beings'. For example, facing the trees in her pictures inspires a magical feeling that the trees are alive and have strong desires to co-exist with humans," said Wang Huangsheng, curator of the Guangdong Museum of Art.

(China Daily April 7, 2007)