Yuval Yairi in New York

The Israeli photographer pieces together moments and memory.

NEW YORK—While most photographs capture a single moment in time, Yuval Yairi's capture thousands. Using a digital video camera set to still mode, the artist takes multiple zoomed-in shots of specific locations in his native Israel, methodically documenting every aspect of the space in a way that mimics how a viewer absorbs information upon entering a room. He then combines these images into a large-scale composite that contains more information than a single shot ever could.

Capturing each scene takes Yairi days, and digitally piecing the frames together can take him up to a month. The method is tedious, but the approach allows him to overcome the spatial limitations the medium traditionally imposes. Like a painter, Yairi can “compose” his works by arranging many individual shots into a final collage that looks as textured as a painting. The patchwork effect is not readily apparent; only upon close examination is it possible to see the barely perceptible grid created by Yairi’s puzzle-piece technique.

Beyond simply producing incredibly sharp images, the artist is also attempting to mimic the natural process of memory. Modeling himself after Simonides of Ceos, the Greek poet considered the father of modern mnemonics, Yairi captures the visual components of a space and reconstructs them later. As the title of his new show at Andrea Meislin Gallery reflects, each photograph becomes a “palace of memory.”

Yairi also chooses subject matter to reflect this theme of remembrance, such as old libraries and print shops. In Sailing to Byzantium (2008), he depicts an 18th-century Ottoman house in the midst of a transformation into a boutique hotel. By juxtaposing images taken at different times of the day, he parallels the layers of time embodied in the space, and the passing of hours comes to represent the passing of eras.

“Palaces of Memory” runs through August 15. Here are the artist’s picks of other shows to see in New York this weekend:

1. Jane and Louise Wilson at 303 Gallery, through August 2

“This show displays photographs of an antique bookstore accompanied by sound. There’s an ironic kind of chaos and disorder among the neat and orderly bookshelves that conveys a sense of fragility and sadness.”

2. Tallur L.N.: Antimatter at Arario Gallery, through August 2

“These sculptural objects combine the traditional with the unfamiliar. You forget you’re in New York when you walk in because it’s a completely different world in there. I think it’s because the installation is so well-executed; they use the space really well.”

3. Ryan Foerster at Bortolami Gallery, through August 22

“Foerster’s photographs are really beautiful — totally different than my work, but really beautiful. They are dark and grainy, and slightly erotic.”

4. Louise Bourgeois at the Guggenheim Museum, through September 28

“I particularly recommend Bourgeois’ ‘Cells’ from the early 90’s because I see it as her version of a small ‘palace of memory.’”

5. Stephen Wilkes: The Construction of the Olympic Stadium and Other Chinese Public Works at ClampArt Gallery, through September 13

“I greatly identify with Wilke’s previous work, especially a series of photographs he did on Ellis Island. The abandoned spaces, the emptiness, and that kind of absence are all things I try to convey in my own work. When I first saw this new show at ClampArt, I was a bit disappointed to see a more remote and distant body of work. Gradually, though, I began to understand that Wilkes might be trying to portray this huge industrial transformation [for the Olympics] as the destruction of a traditional culture. The photograph that left the greatest impression on me was Grape Sheds, Turpan, a monochromatic and silent scene that starkly contrasted with the other images of huge construction projects.”