A major new exhibition at Berlin's Fotografiska gallery showcases two decades of extraordinary street photography by self-taught Chinese photographer Feng Li, who has mastered the art of finding surreal moments hidden within everyday life. "White Nights in Wonderland" presents approximately 150 images captured on the streets of Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, and his hometown of Chengdu, creating what Li describes as "surrealism within reality."
Li possesses a remarkable gift for spotting oddities in seemingly mundane scenarios, transforming ordinary scenes into something funny, charming, and mysteriously magical through his sharp artistic eye. His photographs reveal the world in new and curious ways, drawing attention to spectacular moments that most people would miss entirely. With his camera perpetually in hand, Li captures unbelievable coincidences quickly and instinctively, immortalizing fleeting seconds where the real and unreal converge bizarrely in shared spaces.
The exhibition, curated by Holly Roussell, showcases Li's distinctive sense of composition and color through an uncanny procession of beauty, humor, irony, and humanity. In an interview, Li explained his artistic philosophy: "I never think my vision is any different from anyone else's. I simply use my camera to record how I feel about the world, to recognize and respond to everything I see through personal experience. Some of these moments are absurd and comical, some are sharply satirical to the point of disbelief."
Li's approach to photography is deeply intuitive rather than structured. He never imposes themes or narrative structures on his work, instead allowing hidden connections to emerge naturally. "There are always hidden intuitive connections, as if an invisible force led me to encounter images that echo one another," he revealed. The photographer believes that placing two photographs side by side creates magical storytelling opportunities, instantly generating new narratives and amplifying his intended messages.
One particularly fascinating gallery within the exhibition features "White Night," displaying large lightboxes containing Li's very early works from 2005. These photographs were taken when he was assigned to document a newly built amusement park and construction site on the outskirts of Chengdu. Li describes this location as "utterly surreal," noting that the experience fundamentally transformed both him and his artistic work. The exhibition cleverly juxtaposes these early black-and-white lightbox photographs with later vertical color images, demonstrating the evolution of his ongoing desire to capture reality's absurd aspects.
As a self-taught artist with a background in medicine, Li brings a unique perspective to photography that might have been different with formal academy training. "I believe education teaches you methods and tools, but how you use those tools to create is something only you can discover for yourself," he explained. "In art, intuition is sometimes freer and more inventive than reason." This philosophy is evident in his technical approach, which relies on intuition and directness, using flash and quick shots to freeze meaningful moments without embellishment.
Li's fascination with strangeness and uncanniness stems from his frequent encounters with extraordinarily unusual situations in the most ordinary places. "My life often feels filled with unbelievable coincidences," he shared. "More and more, I believe that every question eventually circles back to philosophy." This quality manifests in his images through their raw immediacy and simultaneously unreal atmosphere, often carrying an unexpected sense of unease that serves as his evidence as a witness to these moments.
Photography has become as instinctive as breathing for Li, who always carries a camera and knows to release the shutter only in fleeting instants when he sees something extraordinary. His creative practice centers on maintaining curiosity and trusting personal instincts over external advice. "When everything becomes instinct, there is no longer such a thing as obsession," he reflected. "Art is the very last thing that requires obsession; it exists in a state that wavers between asking and answering oneself."
For aspiring photographers, Li offers unconventional but profound advice: "Don't trust other people's advice or experience. Only your own will be of real value." This philosophy perfectly encapsulates his artistic journey from medicine to becoming one of the most compelling street photographers capturing the magic hidden within everyday urban life. "White Nights in Wonderland" runs at Berlin's Fotografiska until November 16, 2025, offering visitors an opportunity to experience Li's unique vision of surrealism within reality.
