Lou (Ana Lourdes) Peralta (b. 1964) is a visual artist and contemporary photographer based in Mexico City. She belongs to the fourth generation of a family dedicated to portrait photography—a legacy that continues to nourish her ongoing exploration of the genre. Her practice expands the limits of the two-dimensional photographic image, reimagining portraiture as a sculptural and spatial experience. With a background in editorial photography, Peralta transitioned over the last decade into a full-time artistic practice. 

Her recent work intertwines pre-Hispanic influences with contemporary culture and often materializes in hand-built structures made of diverse materials—such as paper, fabric, agave fiber, or copper wire—integrating photographic processes with physical gestures and artisanal methods.

Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in Mexico and abroad, with recent presentations in Mexico City; León, Guanajuato; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Houston, Texas. She recently completed a series that brings together contemporary portraiture and the architectural concepts of Luis Barragán. Peralta is a Fujifilm brand ambassador through the X-Photographers program. Recent recognition of her work includes being selected for the Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 (2023 and 2025), the FRESH Photography Award (2025), the 22nd Santa Fe Photography Symposium in New Mexico (2023), and the selection of one of her works for the Ibero Puebla Biennial (BIP) 2025.