Craig Jun Li's Solo Exhibition at Chapter NY Explores Photography's Mechanical Apparatus
Craig Jun Li's solo exhibition at Chapter NY in New York is open from 9 January to 21 February, delving into the mechanical aspects of film photography through sculptural and collage pieces. The artist showcases vertical silicone sheets encased in metal, displaying warped dye-transfer prints of 16mm projector interiors alongside Polaroids of projected visuals. Each artwork incorporates a film-cartridge spring from a Polaroid SX-70 camera. The installation titled 'As She Puts It, “One Big Ruin”' (2026) gathers print ephemera on windowsills, while the wall sculpture 'Mechanical Model for Two Clocks' (2026) resonates with the works of Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Li’s creations draw on Vilém Flusser's 1984 essay, emphasizing the mechanical apparatus over pictorial photography, proposing film photography as a lens for comprehending the complexities of modern life.
Key facts
- Craig Jun Li's solo exhibition ran from 9 January through 21 February at Chapter NY in New York
- Works include vertical silicone sheets with metal frames featuring dye-transfer prints and Polaroids
- Installation 'As She Puts It, “One Big Ruin”' (2026) references artist Lutz Bacher
- Wall sculpture 'Mechanical Model for Two Clocks' (2026) echoes Felix Gonzalez-Torres's work
- Exhibition draws from Vilém Flusser's 1984 book 'Towards a Philosophy of Photography'
- Artworks incorporate film-cartridge springs from Polaroid SX-70 cameras
- Materials include expired Kodak paper, ethnographic imagery, and decommissioned thermographs
- Focus shifts from pictorial photography to mechanical apparatus and material history
Entities
Artists
- Craig Jun Li
- Vilém Flusser
- Lutz Bacher
- Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Institutions
- Chapter NY
- ArtReview
Locations
- New York
- United States