Colette Justine was born in Tunis, Tunisia.

She has French nationality, and grew up in Nice, France, before becoming a naturalized American citizen. Better known as Colette and from 2001 Colette Lumiere is a multimedia artist (painter, sculptress, installation maker) known for her pioneering work in performance art, street art and her use of photography constructed photograph. She is also known for her work exploring male and female gender roles, different guises and personas and for her soft fabric environments where she often appears as the central element. In all of her work, Colette worked under the guise of performative personas that explore issues of the body, gender, and representation. Wearing extravagant costumes, she performed live and slept in her installations; she even once staged her own death at the downtown Whitney Museum. “I thought of myself as ‘post-conceptual’ because I persisted and believed strongly in the power of symbols,” she said. “My work was putting less emphasis on the intellect alone. I sought unity of body, mind, and soul, in my life and art.”

She lives and works in New York City.