Polaroid Distortions

With instant film like Polaroids, there are layers that I move by hand to interact with each other. Sometimes my fingers hurt from the work. Heat, light, cold, time and the surrounding environment all have an impact on the resulting image created. They are each one-of-a-kind, unique, cameraless creations.

They are ususally inspired by pure movement and by achieving small goals that I set for each piece while following a set of temporary rules. Each piece is created with a specific intention in mind.

And, each piece is created blind. Instant film develops very slowly, sometimes over hours. When I create these images, I only have a glimmer of what they’ll look like when the development stabilizes. It’s creating visual art in a “blind” way, yielding to process, mistakes and happy accidents. 

To move chemicals across the surface, by hand, negating the camera creates images that you’d never get using traditional photographic methods. I’m curious about the ways that photographs can be created without a camera. This body of art features what happens with the light and chemical sensitive attributes of photography come together.

Throughout my work, I’ve used all kinds of light-sensitive surfaces and light sources including bioluminescent fungus, light that creeps into packages through the mail process, flashlights, moonlight, hazy lights, bouncing lights and more. This series is a continuation of that exploration. It’s intention is to encourage others be adventeurous and take the road less traveled in their on a regular basis so they can step further into who they are.

All of these pieces have been made by hand using instant film (aka: Polaroid film) without a camrea. And each is a photographic original. Edition 1