For photographer Feng Li, the streets are the stage on which the absurd and fleeting theatrics of the on a regular basis play out. Traversing documentary and surrealism, Li instinctively makes even probably the most mundane of moments vibrant and enigmatic, from descending the steps into the metro to taking a cup of tea on a terrace in Paris. His photos are equally distortive, not solely blurring the traces between actuality and surreality on the streetscapes they’re shot, but in addition between evening and day.
Li’s new solo exhibition, White Nights in Wonderland at Fotografiska Berlin, cuts via the hubbub, encouraging us to note the refined and unusual facets of the quotidian. Curated by artwork historian and museologist Holly Roussell, the exhibition showcases round 150 pictures taken over 20 years, together with a choice of photos which have by no means been proven in Berlin earlier than.
“I always see and encounter things beyond the ordinary in the most ordinary of places,” Li says. “The more ordinary something is, the more real it is – and the closer to the truth it is. These kinds of surreal coincidences set within reality truly fascinate me. Life is a play, and the streets are just one aspect of it.”
Li’s astute eye for element and distinct visible language, which is as outstanding in his work in trend as it’s in his road pictures, have earned him worldwide recognition. The Chengdu-born photographer has exhibited in group and solo reveals the world over, in Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai. Now, exhibiting in Berlin, he’s excited to be again. “I love the atmosphere of Berlin. It seems as if time and space are blurred, making it difficult to tell whether you are in the past or the future.”
His ascent to turning into one of the vital compelling voices in modern Chinese pictures (his accolades embrace the Best Photographer prize on the 2012 Jinan International Photo Biennale and the Grand Jury prize on the 2012 Lianzhou Photo Festival) was lower than typical. “I studied traditional Chinese medicine,” he says. “My mother is a doctor and I grew up in a hospital environment, constantly witnessing the pain of patients. After graduating from medical school, I no longer wanted to continue as a doctor in a hospital, facing patients every day.” Perhaps, then, his pictures acts as a treatment of kinds to an early publicity to life’s harsher sides. In a world more and more numb to its environment, life via Li’s lens presents a welcome perspective.
It wasn’t till he got here throughout the 1992 novel, The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller, a fictional love story a few National Geographic photographer, that Li realised he needed to be a photographer. “It suddenly felt like I had found the life I wanted, photographing people and places. I started saving and bought my first camera.”
Li proceeded to show himself pictures, starting in black and white. “It wasn’t until I gradually learned more about the history of photography – photographers like Robert Frank, Diane Arbus and Weegee come to mind – that I realised the camera was just a tool and that I had to find what I wanted to express, then use the camera purposefully and consciously to record.”
“I soon realised that colour and flash could help me convey the inexpressible absurdities of the reality I observed,” he says. “Nowadays when I take photos, I feel like I’m actually painting with my camera. And it’s the flash that creates the unexpected drama in the details.”
Over a profession spanning a long time, Li’s outlook on the world has modified, so have components of his image-making. When he first began out, Li was extra sarcastic in his work; now he’s extra refined and reserved. While the strategies and trivia could have developed, the impetus stays the identical – Li captures serendipitous moments between folks in on a regular basis locations. “I just love observing people as they come and go on the street,” he says. “Where there are people, there’s always drama. They’re the characters, constantly and unconsciously acting out their stories.”
White Nights in Wonderland by Feng Li is on present at Fotografiska in Berlin till 23 November 2025.