Apple’s new exhibition, What Holds Us, challenges perceptions of iPhone photography. Opening in New York this week, the show features work by Alex Prager, Jack Davison, and Jimmy Chin, each pushing the boundaries of what a smartphone camera can achieve. Prager, known for her cinematic approach, creates meticulously staged scenes, while Davison focuses on tactile textures and Chin captures high-stakes environments.
Curator Kathy Ryan tasked the trio with creating images using the iPhone 18 Pro, offering a broad prompt about human connections. Prager’s Prospect Avenue Triptych (9:20pm–9:25pm), a three-panel work, captures the aftermath of a party with her signature artificial glow and managed chaos. One panel shows a packed room from above, turning guests in bright attire into a tightly organized crowd, while the other two focus on individuals lingering or departing. Davison’s photographs zoom in on hands interacting with clay, emphasizing material texture and human touch. Chin, a climber and filmmaker, captures relationships between climbers and their environment in British Columbia’s rugged Bugaboo Provincial Park, balancing expansive environments with intimate details of his collaborator, Conrad Anker.
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What Holds Us runs through September 20 at 456 West 18th Street before traveling to London and Shanghai. Ryan emphasizes the project’s goal: “We wanted to do something that was a pure art project,” with each photographer bringing “a very distinct, unique point of view” to the mix. The artists’ diverse approaches collectively prove that gallery-worthy photography isn’t limited to traditional cameras. Their work exemplifies the iPhone’s potential as a creative medium, showing that advanced tools are now built into devices many carry daily.