09/10/2026
A lensless pinhole camera operates on the principle of the camera obscura: light enters through a tiny aperture at the front of the camera, forming an inverted image. This extremely small aperture produces, in geometrical optics, theoretically infinite depth of field and an ultra-wide field of view, while also introducing light diffraction. Objects at different distances within the pinhole’s field of view are not selectively brought into focus; instead, the resulting image remains in a balanced state of unsharpness, giving rise to an unusual equality of presence.
With a pinhole camera, Pan Junlong observes the familiar city and the rhythms of everyday life without the framing of a viewfinder. Through slow exposures, he documents what light leaves behind within a shared temporal scale—traces that register the dynamics of the immediate moment while carrying the transformations of a longer span of time.
Lower Than Normal
Pan Junlong: Pinhole Observations
Curator: Dan Zhou
Organiser: 南荻纵生 Nomad No Mad Space
Volunteers: Class G24711 of Shanghai Art and Design Academy
Opening: 2026.10.09 (Fri), 14:00
Duration: 2026.10.09-11.08
Open time: Tue - Sun, 12:00-18:00
Venue: Bldg 6, 546, Yuyuan Rd, Jing'an, Shanghai
Pan JunlongBorn in Shanghai in 1976, Pan Junlong was introduced to photography through his father. He later worked as a food photographer, contributing images to specialist culinary publications, including Chinese Cuisine, China Master Chef, and Easteat Magazine. For nearly a decade, he has devoted his practice to pinhole photography, turning his attention to the landscapes along both banks of the Huangpu River. Through long exposures and sustained waiting, he documents the traces of people and place, through which he reflects upon his own inner source.
