For his cityscapes and landscapes, Shi converts rooms in buildings adjacent to his subjects into darkrooms, where a small aperture on one end allows light to pass through and expose photographic paper, attached to the wall on the other end. He spends hours framing and calculating each shot in his makeshift, onsite darkrooms. The long exposure photos can take anywhere between 90 minutes to nine hours to create. Shi often stays in the room during the exposure, a process which he personally finds meditative.
2006
UNIQUE GELATIN SILVER PRINT (CAMERA OBSCURA)
THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, LOS ANGELES, THE EAST WEST BANK COLLECTION, PURCHASED AND PROMISED GIFT OF EAST WEST BANK.
49 7/8 x 165 1/4 IN
PASADENA COMMERCIAL BANKING CENTER, CALIFORNIA
When no available structures exist, Shi converts mobile units, such as wheeled trailers, as he did in making the photograph Hollywood Sign (2006). Projected upside down and backward in the space, the image is realized as a negative, creating an interesting reversal of image and light.
