In 2011 Robert Canali (b.1988) graduated from York University in Toronto, Canada, where he received his BFA in photography. The Canadian born artist is currently based in San Francisco, California. Canali’s work explores the mystery and beauty of the photographic medium, a study in themes like permanence, fragility, and individual perception.
His work inspires questions more than it reveals answers, as he pushes the bounds of this medium. Canali’s concepts are realized as photographs, sculptures, installations, and books. Often disparate in appearance, ranging from the cosmic, the psychedelic, and the nostalgic, his work offers a complex query about time, recollection, and the rapid advancement of modern life.
Selected Projects
(2009–CURRENT)
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SOMEWHERE I HAVE NEVER TRAVELLED,(2014–Current). See Full Project
With the advent of digital photographic technology, analog processing has been rejected, its tools and practitioners are slowly forgotten. Somewhere I Have Never Traveled continues to explore the fleeting beauty in what progress leaves behind. This work features large…
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PLAIN BROWN WRAPPER,(2013–Current).See Full Project
GHOST NOTES,(2012). See Full Project
A childhood diagnosis of red-green colour-blindness engendered a lifelong fascination with the relationship between reality and perception. For various reasons, biological or abstract, the distance between the two can be vast. Photography is well-suited to explore this dynamic; the film’s purpose is to capture a reality, or a truth – however, each step in the process can be manipulated to alter the final product. This work offers a tongue-in-cheek exploration of the medium and its ability to create fictional realities. This work explores the interplay between reality and imagination...
The term ghost notes, derived from music theory, describes a note with rhythmic value but no apparent tone. Muted to an extent where they become more percussive sounding than harmonic, these notes are embedded within a bar of musical notation to craft dynamic in an otherwise linear sounding piece. Expanding on this definition, Ghost Notes explores natural phenomena, bringing to light complex compositions ingrained within the world around us. Traditional black and white landscapes are cropped, flipped, and turned upside-down. Some more obvious than others, these subtle interventions...
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FOR THE LACK OF A SMILE,(2011). See Full Project
IN DUST,(2010). See Full Project
Waxing reflective on the history and conventions of photography, For the Lack of a Smile explores themes of desire, obsession, melancholy, and the physical print itself. This work considers inherent qualities of the photographic medium. Physical and chemical aspects are addressed in study of the unique character of the negative. A reference to the studio, the piece Victoria reminds the viewer of the simple aesthetic beauty of the materials, which are usually secondary to the final print. Characteristics of photographic instruments are reflected upon in the sculptural work Prism...
Abstractions of refracted light, visible only ‘in dust’, emphasize the physical and chemical aspects of photography through the unique character of the negative. This work was inspired by the phenomena of light rendered through large format photography. Comprised of colour and black and white photographs, this body of work is an exercise in ‘seeing’ and photographic looking. Activated by its illusion, the black and white photograph in this series functions as an index to reference when considering the body of work. The crystal-like texture in this photograph...