Chris Engman

Through a process that blends sculpture, installation, and digital compositing, Chris Engman’s work challenges the conventional role of photography. His environments are carefully constructed, layered, and manipulated to reveal the tension between what we see and what we assume to be true. Based in Los Angeles, Engman approaches photography as a form of documentation. His process is slow, spanning months. From scouting the perfect location and mapping sunlight position, to staging, lighting, photographing, and reassembling every element by hand. At the center of Engman’s practice is the idea of impermanence. We project assumptions, assign meaning, and often overlook the seams. He leans into the space between what’s real and what’s perceived—altering familiarity in a way that speaks directly to viewers who allow themselves to fully observe.

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In early works like Transplant (2005), he documents the physical relocation of a tree. Making the labor as visible as the image itself.

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Later works like Landscape for Candace (2015) and Point Mugu (2020) expand that language, layering hundreds of photographs into hyperreal compositions that flatten time, light, and space.

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In his most recent work, Work and Play (2024), Engman overlays large-scale photographs of natural landscapes with translucent images of home interiors—creating a layered effect that fractures space like a prism.

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Engman’s work ultimately offers insight into our own capacity to question, and the performative process we go through to arrive at those questions.