"What is a trick and what is it to look at a trick while it is happening? In works that examine the trickery that is the creation of images, Ofri Cnaani looks into the objects that generate these images: the “moviemakers” are low-fi moving images that show the slippery transition from object to representation; cyanotypes reflect an interest in the way images are produced and the object’s imprint; and the photographs of slides, cameras, and devices are all treated to comment on what a conversion from three dimensions to two-dimensional images can be—magic. (Or illusion.)
"Magic on Hold includes transparent tabletops with desk lamps and a verity of moviemakers on top of them. Cnaani’s interest in light and the creation of images leads her to place series of objects—which will be in constant flux, arranged and rearranged throughout the exhibition’s running time—to become moving images on the floor, the ceiling, and the walls surrounding the installation. The tables are used to present a collection of apparatuses, but Cnaani inverts the tradition of this display technique by creating an environment where it is not the object on the table that catches our eye, but rather its shadow or negative. With this interest in both the image and the system or technology that create it, these works hark back to the early of experimental photography and initial references to moving images. Still, it is not nostalgia that is screened on the gallery’s walls and floors, but curiosity and the investigation of mechanisms of showing.
"Unlike the cinematic experience, Cnaani’s sculptural configuration makes no attempt to hide its means of production. The equal attention to projector and image seeks to explore the tension between reality and illusion. Embracing a variety of visual mechanisms rooted in different traditions, Cnaani employs a variety of mechanisms of image-making that are fairly straightforward, even transparent. Their simplicity reinforces the enchantment, allowing for a quick glimpse into the backstage of trickery."