Movement is Art: The poetry of light and emotion at Photo Hanoi’25 - Biennale
Through Tony Noël’s lens, light and body intertwine to reveal the poetry of motion, inviting visitors to experience photography as a living rhythm of emotion and culture.
THE HANOI TIMES — As part of the Photo Hanoi’25 - Biennale , the exhibition entitled “Movement is Art - The Art of Movement & Light” by French photographer Tony Noël will take place until November 30 at the exhibition house No.61 Trang Tien Street.
In Tony Noël's photography, if light is the soul of photography, then movement is the essence of life.
At the opening ceremony held on November 3, Tony Noël shared his personal connection to Vietnam, a return to his roots after years abroad. “This is the first time I have come back to my homeland, Vietnam, where I came from.”
Born in Lyon, France, to a Vietnamese father and a Lao mother, Tony grew up amid a rich tapestry of Eastern and Western influences.
This cultural fusion continues to shape his creative vision and artistic philosophy.
Through the lens of movement and light, Tony’s photography captures the grace of the human body and the rhythm of emotion itself.
As the curatorial representative of Photo Hanoi’25 - Biennale noted: “If light is the soul of photography, then movement is the essence of life.”
These images in Movement is Art invite viewers into an intimate dialogue between motion and stillness, where each dancer’s liberated gesture dissolves into the magic of light and space.
In these fleeting instants, the body becomes a vessel for the inner spirit and photography transforms into a language of emotion.
Grace and motion intertwine under the lens of French-Vietnamese photographer Tony Noël.
The series, the result of four years of exploration and creative experimentation, is divided into ten chapters, each offering a unique study of body language and light composition.
Through delicate contrasts of shadow and illumination, the works celebrate human form and vitality.
Collaborating with both professional and amateur performers, Tony brings to life an aesthetic that is deeply personal yet universally resonant.
His lens seeks not merely to record motion, but to reveal the soul within it, reaffirming his belief that the human body remains the purest expression of artistic truth.
Franck Bolgiani, Cultural Attaché and Director of the French Institute in Vietnam, shared his admiration for the exhibition: “Tony Noël’s works not only reveal the captivating language of photography but also touch the emotions deep within each viewer- just as they have touched mine.”
The language of Tony’s photography becomes a mirror reflecting the subtleties of human emotion, powerfully conveyed through the movements of the body.
For visitors and photography enthusiasts, Movement is Art offers not only a visual journey but also a reflective experience on identity, balance and harmony.
Tony is renowned for his conceptual exploration of movement, body language and light. As founder of Undo Art Agency in Lyon, he has collaborated with major cultural institutions including the Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon and the Lyon Biennale.
“Movement is Art - The Art of Movement & Light” marks his first solo exhibition outside Europe, showcasing his vision of photography as a living art form where each captured movement becomes a universal expression of human emotion.
The vivid light in a photo by Tony Noël.
