Chris Fraser’s Asterisms transforms the Tinworks warehouse into a large-scale camera obscura. Thousands of hand-drilled pinholes in the roof project small images of the sun throughout the space, creating a shifting field of light that traces the sun’s path across the day and seasons.

Inspired by Renaissance-era cathedrals retrofitted with pinholes to function as solar observatories, the installation continues this lineage of architecture as instrument. On October 14, 2023, during a partial solar eclipse, Asterisms responded in real time: circular projections became delicate crescents, surrounding visitors with thousands of miniature eclipses and turning the space into a living record of a rare celestial event.

Asterisms remains a permanent, site-specific work at Tinworks @ N Ida. It continues to reflect the passage of time through light, offering a quiet, ever-changing encounter with the natural world.

Chris Fraser is an artist and educator based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He creates immersive installations that explore light, space, and perception through historical image-making tools such as the camera obscura and magic lantern. His work transforms architecture into instruments of observation, making the passage of time and light visible.

Fraser has exhibited internationally, with projects at institutions including the Vitra Design Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. He is Artist-in-Residence and Head of Photography at Cranbrook Academy of Art.