Alejandra Burciaga
ESP // Alejandra Burciaga, mexicana residente en Barcelona desde 2009, año en que comenzó a explorar a través de la lente, la ciudad y todo lo que fue encontrando al paso a través de los años y travesías.
El principio de que la cámara gira hacia dentro y hacia afuera necesariamente es lo que guía su radar, realizando a veces, una inmersión a lo más íntimo, convirtiendo a la fotografía en letras para relatar historias y silencios… otras, observando y capturando el espectáculo de es el mundo y su gente a través de la cultura, sabores y olores.
Actualmente colabora como Coordinadora de Marketing en Weedmaps Europa y realizando proyectos en colaboración con creadores independientes de la ciudad.
ENG // Alejandra Burciaga, a Mexican resident in Barcelona since 2009, the year in which she began to explore the city and everything that was finding her way through the years and journeys through the lens of a canera.
The principle that the camera rotates inwards and outwards is necessarily what guides your radar, sometimes making a dive into the most intimate; turning photography into letters telling the stories and silences … sometimes observing and capturing the show of this world and its people through culture, tastes and smells.
She currently collaborates as a Marketing Coordinator at Weedmaps Europe and is doing projects with independent creators of the city.
Alek Lindus
Born in Paris – taught by Greece – immersed in Polaroid
Nacida en París – educada por Grecia – inmersa en Polaroid
Alessia Amati
ENG // What shape do dreams have? I have the answer. My dreams are square, exactly 7,9×7,9 cm like the image that starts to be created within the white frame of a Polaroid. And it is precisely my dreams that I try to transfer to instant film. Dreams made of memories of emotions, of stories told before falling asleep, of fears and joys, of wonder and indifference. Reality and imagination, illusion and magic come together with lights and shadows giving life to the images that escape from my mind to go to become a unique and unrepeatable Polaroid.
I’m Alessia, a 28 years old hopeless dreamer, graphic designer and a Polaroider!
ESP // ¿Qué forma tienen los sueños? Yo dispongo de esa respuesta. Mis sueños son cuadrados, exactamente 7,9×7,9 cm, como la imagen que comienza a crearse dentro del marco blanco de una Polaroid. Y son precisamente mis sueños los que intento transferir a la película instantánea. Sueños hechos de recuerdos, de emociones, de historias contadas antes de dormirse, de miedos y alegrías, de asombro e indiferencia. Realidad e imaginación, ilusión y magia se unen con luces y sombras que dan vida a las imágenes que escapan de mi mente para convertirse en una Polaroid única e irrepetible.
Soy Alessia, una soñadora sin esperanzas de 28 años, diseñadora gráfica y Polaroider.
Alina Cvetkova
ENG // Alina Cvetkova is a writer and a designer but sometime she shoots instant photos too. She is also one of the minds behind Polaroid of the Day. First having started to write for the project, she eventually tried shooting Polaroid-600, and the beauty of instant photography immediately dragged her into its world. Now she is a proud owner of a SX-70, and she never travels without it.
Alina’s work is a constant search for the perfect plane, the escape of light and an incessant struggle against reality. His energetic point of view seeks to give an alternative vision to the image, a visual effect in which nothing is what it seems: you can hear her breathing in each one of her images; you can almost hear the movement of the air and the light sliding on the picture. Her style is close and recognisable, Alina brings an instant world to a photo that is not only the support, but also the thread of a story that she narrates through her work.
ESP // Alina Cvetkova es escritora y diseñadora, pero en algún momento ella también se dedica a tomar fotos instantáneas. Es también una de las mentes detrás de Polaroid of the Day. Al principio solo escribía para el proyecto, finalmente se lanzó a disparar en su Polaroid-600, y la belleza de la fotografía instantánea la arrastró de inmediato a su mundo. Ahora es una orgullosa dueña de una SX-70 y nunca viaja sin élla.
El trabajo de Alina es una constante búsqueda del plano perfecto, del escape de la luz y de una incesante lucha contra la realidad. Su punto de vista enérgico busca dar una visión alternativa a la imagen, un efecto visual en el que nada es lo que parece: se puede escuchar su respiración en cada una de sus imágenes, casi hasta el movimiento del aire y de la luz se desliza por la foto.
Su estilo es cercano y en el que es fácil reconocerse, ella acerca un mundo instantáneo a una foto que no solo es el soporte, sino también el hilo conductor de una historia que ella narra a través de su obra.
Andrea Cassady
ESP // Nací en Caracas en 1991 donde viví parte de mi infancia hasta los once años, cuando mis padres tomaron la decisión de trasladarse a España.
Recuerdo haber pasado horas con mi abuelo repasando sus viejos álbumes de fotografía con sus múltiples expediciones por Canaima y su cara al revivir esos momentos. Creo que, sin ser muy consciente por aquel entonces, marcó mi futura aspiración.
Fue en Madrid donde empecé a sentirme atraída por el mundo de la imagen de nuevo, donde flirteé durante dos años con diferentes disciplinas en la escuela CEV.
Mi primera Polaroid, la mítica 635 color, fue un bonito regalo que me sirvió como primera toma de contacto con el formato instantáneo.
Tras una temporada dedicada a otros campos, volví a toparme con pasadas y nuevas influencias que me acercaron de nuevo a la fotografía. Volví a repasar viejos libros donde redescubrí mi antigua pasión por las Polaroids y vida de Mapplerthorpe decidiendo darme una nueva oportunidad.
Adquirí la Polaroid Land, de la que no me separo últimamente, aprendiendo y sorprendiéndome cada día sobre sus posibilidades. Dada la dificultad para conseguir películas, me tomo cada captura como un desafío, estudiando cada disparo hasta sentirme segura. Pero la Polaroid es un fantástico vehículo de inmediatez, siendo mi verdadera ambición el fotorreportaje, por lo que me gustaría trasladar próximamente mis trabajos en esta dirección, dejándome llevar por el instante y no por la precisión.
ENG // I was born in Caracas in 1991 where I lived part of my childhood until I was eleven years old, when my parents decided to move to Spain.
I remember spending hours with my grandfather reviewing his old photography albums with his many expeditions through Canaima and his face when reliving those moments. I think that, without being very conscious at the time, it marked my future aspiration.
It was in Madrid that I began to feel attracted to the world of the image again, where I flirted for two years with different disciplines in the CEV school.
My first Polaroid, the mythical 635 color, was a nice gift that served me as the first contact with the instant format.
After a season dedicated to other fields, I came across new influences and past that brought me back to photography. I went back to reviewing old books where I rediscovered my old passion for the Polaroids and Mapplerthorpe’s life by deciding to give me a new opportunity.
I acquired the Polaroid Land, which I have not parted with lately, learning and surprising me every day about its possibilities. Given the difficulty to get films, I take each capture as a challenge, studying each shot until I feel safe. But the Polaroid is a fantastic vehicle of immediacy, being my true ambition the photoreport, so I would like to move my work in this direction soon, letting myself be carried away by the moment and not by the precision.
Andreea Andrei
ENG // Andreea Andrei was born in 1991 in Bucharest, Romania. By the age twelve she starteddevelop a sense for photography and moving images/ film.
She got to Film School in Romania where she studied film directing for two years. After those two intense years and after her first job, where she worked in a TV station, she decided to change the scenario and move abroad.
She moved to London, United Kingdom in 2015 to finish her studies in photography and film making.
In 2016 she received a scholarship for a documentary photography course made by Ed Thompson at his Punktum School in London.
In 2017, she was selected at NFTS, London where she did a short course on directing short films.
In March 2017 she presented her project “Polaroid Project. Instant People” at a meeting at TATE Modern, London.
In July 2017 she had her first solo show in London at Camden Image Gallery, with her project entirely made on analog cameras ( Polaroid 600 Spirit and Polaroid 636 close-up) called “Polaroid Project.Instant People.”
In September 2017 she went to Bucharest, Romania to do her first solo show in her hometown for BalKaniK Festival.
In November 2017 one of her photographs was used by MoMA, NYC in their story of the day on instagram, for their new show on clothes called “Items: Is Fashion Modern?”
In December 2017 she started her collaboration with Polaroid of The Day, Spain. For POTD Andreea Andrei is hunting for new upcoming polaroid artists and writing about them. She took interviews with Stefanie Schneider, Lisa Toboz, Raluca Rosu, Frank Neze, Louise Westbrooke.
Anika Neese
ENG // Anika Neese was born in Hamburg and recognized her love for photography early on.
At the age of 20, she did a three-year analog photography education.
Since 10 years, she now lives and works in Berlin as a photo artist.
Her work is a constant evolution and development of techniques that can be viewed as intimate and where the subject creates constant surprises, incessant searches and permanent stories.
Her main themes are order, control, chaos and isolation.
Arghawan Hamrah
ENG // Argi Hamrah is an Iranian-German photographer living in Barcelona with her family.
She was brought up in Germany and discovered her affection for photography at an early age through her father, a hobby video/photographer by using his tools in exploring the word behind the cam.
The fascination continued after traveling to the US, where she studied the basic of manual analog photography with black-and-white film development in UC Berkeley.
Right after having returned back home she continued following her passion by assisting at “Marco Stirn Photography” for 3 years, and taking an educational training in Wiesbaden to learn the inside out of analog photography and later digital photography.
Since then she has been a freelancer in portrait, wedding and street photography.
ESP // Argi Hamrah es una fotógrafa iraní-alemana que vive en Barcelona con su familia.
Ella fue criada en Alemania y descubrió su afecto por la fotografía a una edad temprana a través de su padre, un video / fotógrafo aficionado, quien usaba sus herramientas para explorar la palabra detrás de la cámara.
La fascinación continuó después de viajar a Estados Unidos, donde comenzó a estudiar los aspectos básicos de la fotografía manual analógica con el desarrollo de películas en blanco y negro en la Universidad de California en Berkeley.
Directamente después de regresar a casa, continuó su pasión asistiendo a 3 años de trabajo en “Marco Stirn Photography” y capacitación en educación en Wiesbaden para aprender los recovecos de la fotografía analógica y luego más tarde de fotografía digital.
Desde entonces ha sido freelancer realizando retratos, bodas y fotografía de calle.
Astrid Jacomme
ENG //Astrid Jacomme is a French photographer living in Barcelona and passionate of street and travel photography. Used to digital cameras, she discovered the magic of instant photography some years ago, when her mother gave her an old Polaroid 635, the same one with which all of her photographs have been taken when she was a child. It probably explains why today the work of Astrid is linked to a reflexion about childhood, emancipation and memories.
Maybe because she studied chemistry or just because she understands photography as a creative tool, Astrid likes to intervene her photographs to fulfil the complete artistic process.
ESP // Astrid Jacomme es una fotógrafa francesa residente en Barcelona y apasionada por la fotografía de calle y de viajes. Acostumbrada a las cámaras digitales, descubrió la magia de la fotografía instantánea hace algunos años, cuando su madre le regaló su vieja Polaroid 635, la misma con la que se tomaron todas sus fotografías cuando era niña. Probablemente explica por qué hoy el trabajo de Astrid está vinculado a una reflexión sobre la infancia, la emancipación y los recuerdos.
Tal vez porque estudió química o simplemente porque entiende la fotografía como una herramienta creativa, a Astrid le gusta intervenir sus fotografías para completar el proceso artístico.
Carmen de Vos
ENG // Flying Freelance Portrayer. Purveyor of Exquisite Photographic Peculiarities. Fabriqueur of Foxy Femmes. Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the late TicKL-Magazine. Author of THE EYES OF THE FOX, her beautiful, voluptuous photo book published by [ander]-zijds presenting a decade of curiously frivolous Polaroids.
Belgian artist Carmen De Vos mingles highbrow etiquette with sly, subversive eroticism. Her Polaroids are refreshingly audacious and aesthetically wicked, pushing the viewers beyond the boundaries of ordinary life in a way that makes them do about anything to spend one more hour in that mad land of no rules where shameless and sensual women live their baroque fantasies.
Enormously longing for what she’s afraid to loose: real human contact, the slowness of being and creating, the tangibility of materials. She is a slow photographer. She shoots Polaroids to frame these mental escapades, they get so easily out of hand. She never really gets cured from naughtiness and can’t help but traveling back to those blessed times of free-love photography with her Polaroids.
Almost without exception she uses old Polaroid cameras, long time expired film and self-made filters. Her tools and methods – such as film bleaching and deliberate film obstruction – are not precise and are not even geared towards a perfect representation. They often yield results – such as colorisation, deformation, unsharpness – which she could never have predicted on forehand with any certainty, because their flaws do not allow for calculation. She’s not in control. She fights the material. She plans, stages and directs but the decayed chemistry and off-focus lenses add their magic. All by themselves. Which merrily surprises her. Or ruins her image. This battle attracts her as much as it frustrates her. She loves to create within these limitations, to try to produce the best possible image within the narrow circumstances given. Luckily, she’s a sucker for imperfections.
Caroline Bonarde
ENG // Caroline Bonarde was born in Brazil but has lived in England for the past 16 years. She started shooting Polaroids over 10 years ago and many of her images are self portraits. Her self portraits are about hidden emotions, sensations and state of mind. She feels that Instant Film has the right quality to make her portraits more emotional and with a psychological and emotional depth, since they have a surreal quality, almost dreamlike, like the existence inside the human psyche and subconscious. Her intentions behind each images are not entirely clear, it’s ungraspable but relatable. Her private emotions become a canvas for the viewer to translate their own feelings and impressions about the image.
Ciara Cabodevila
ESP // Artista, investigadora emérita en historia del arte y especializada en documentación y archivos fotográficos, lleva varios años realizando investigaciones sobre la dualidad de la censura, la autocensura y la inmigración y la transnacionalidad, eliminando tanto las narraciones personales como los discursos públicos. Toma como punto de partida los orígenes y las historias anónimas. Cuestiona las raíces y la historia colectiva que se oculta al llevar las maletas a las Américas, o estas fotos enviadas al conocimiento cuyos rostros ya no vemos, pero cuya sangre, sudor y ritmos mezclan generaciones. La música y la foto se destacan así como la parte superior del iceberg sensorial a través del cual los hijos de tantas familias pueden anudar, entre dos tierras, dos mares de tiempo y espacio que se entrelazan hasta nuestra días, haciéndonos conscientes del pasado para que podamos armonizar y construir un futuro radiante. Este discurso creativo pretende crear un espacio de duda y cuestionamiento a través del entretenimiento,el arte,el espacio expresivo,desde lo personal a lo universal.
ENG // Artist and art history researcher, specialized in documentation and photographic archives, has spent several years doing research on the duality of censorship, self-censorship, immigration and transnationality, eliminating both personal narrations and public discourses. Ciara takes anonymous stories as her starting point. She questions the roots and the collective history that is hidden when taking the suitcases to the Americas, or these faces we no longer know and see, but whose blood, sweat and rhythms mix generations. The music and the photo stand out, as well as the upper part of the sensory iceberg through which the children of so many families can knot, between two lands, two seas of time and space, intertwined till nowadays, making us aware of the past so that we can harmonize and build a radiant future. Ciara’s creative discourse aims to create a space of doubt through entertainment, art; an expressive space from the personal to the universal.
Clare Marie Bailey
ENG // Clare Marie Bailey is a UK based photographer and was born and grew up on the Island of Anglesey in Wales. Spending hours with her grandmother who was Italian, Clare became interested in world cinema which would later become an enduring influence on her photographic work.
Her passion for Polaroid and instant film photography began when she became mesmerised and fell deeply in love with its dynamic and at times mercurial and almost random character; its ability to give an almost perfect imperfection.
Clare’s work, centred on self-portraits, is heavily influenced by the Cinema, Magical Iconography, Dreams, the Counterculture of the 1960 s and B-Movies. Clare uses film to work towards creating an alternative and parallel world where she can co-exist with the ‘real’ world and is fascinated with the idea of ‘doubles’ and ‘doppelgangers’ and the concept of reinvention. Clare believes all art is a form of magic and using memory, emotion and imagination to manipulate materials and create imagery is a form of alchemy.
Her work has been exhibited in many group shows and most recently was exhibited as part of Image Nations ‘Instant Art Paris’ the International Polaroid Exhibition in Galerie Joseph Turenne, Paris.
Currently working on a new body of work, Clare has also been creating film shorts to accompany her still work. Clare is a group member of the 12:12 project for 2019 that brings together international Polaroid Artists who shoot a different theme for each month throughout the year.
Cristina Fontsare
ESP // Estudia Bellas Artes y Arquitectura del Paisaje en la Universidad de Barcelona. Trabaja principalmente en el ámbito de la fotografía, aunque sus inicios en el arte fueron a traves de la escultura. Ha expuesto nacional e internacionalmente.
“La fuente generadora de mi proceso creativo procede de la relación con mi entorno más cercano, momentos de mi vida diaria que transformo en una fcción narrativa ambigua, evocadora que construirá relatos visuales más que imágenes documentales”
ENG // Cristina Fontsare studied Fine Arts and Landscape Architecture at the University of Barcelona. Works mainly in the field of photography, although her beginnings in art were through sculpture. She has exhibited nationally and internationally.
“The source of my creative process comes from the relationship with my immediate surroundings, moments of my daily life that I transform into an ambiguous, evocative narrative fiction that will construct visual stories rather than documentary images”.
Ina Echternach
With my Polaroids I’m trying to create quiet zones for the viewer.
ENG // Currently lives in Naturpark Siebengebirge near Bonn, Germany. In addition to photography, Ina Echternach works in the area of marketing for sustainable products.
Ina Echternach is an emerging artist, working primarily with Polaroid Originals. She is mainly engaged in landscape photography. With her pictures, Echternach tries to examine the reunification with the spiritual self through the contemplation of nature.
Each journey of discovery into the nature is fascinating for Ina Echternach anew. She let herself be guided by nature, sees the special in the supposedly everyday, senses the magic of the places and tries to capture these moments of timelessness in her pictures.
She says about her work, that she tries to capture the feeling or atmosphere she has in nature, especially in the forest. By looking at the pictures she is able to evoke this mood in her everyday life.
Polaroid film is the perfect medium for Ina Echternach to create her mystical landscapes. Ina Echternach came across instant photography by chance.
In 2010 she saw a documentary about Polaroid and the impossible project, at the end of the film she sat down at the computer and ordered a Polaroid camera and some packages of film. After the first pictures she realized that she had found her medium. Echternach says about these first experiments with Polaroid: “I just felt like I had arrived home!”
As she developed her instant photography skills, her polaroids evolved into her own unique style, heavily influenced by other people, artists, nature and life itself.
Echternach’s work has been exhibited in the USA, Germany and France. She is a member of the international artists’ collective “The 12.12 Project” and the German photographers collective „elf perspektiven“.
Ioana Taut
ENG // Get close enough, be present but at the same time invisible, tell the instruction so that the eye, the light, and especially the protagonist, are synchronized in the image. Ioana Tăut, a Romanian based in Berlin, converts the subjects and the spaces she photographs into models that come out of her mind, transforms them and draws them in consonance with the constant throbbing of the situations she lives in and shapes in each instant photo.
Her work is warm and full of detail, a quality that has made Ioana a reference to follow in her photographic style.
Ioana Tăut is also a musician- and live jazz concert photographer, a body of work which she successfully transposed into her passion of instant photography, resulting in her most well-known project so far, called Instant Stage.
Jennifer Rumbach
ENG // My Name is Jennifer and I´m working as a photographer based in Cologne, Germany (www.jennifer-rumbach.de). In my professional work, I mainly focus on capturing people.
My customers are companies, doctor practices and agencies. Furthermore I´m a part-time employee at the cologne cathedral, where I especially document the monument preservation. Since many years I´m captured by instant film materials. I love that there are no rules, so that I´m free of conventions and photographic standards. That allows me to focus just on the motive.
Polaroid is playful and the handling is almost a bit childish, nevertheless Instant Material can be a challenge. It’s like a gamble between surprise, frustration and fun. This experience compensates my workday life.
ESP // Mi nombre es Jennifer y trabajo como fotógrafa en Colonia, Alemania (www.jennifer-rumbach.de). En mi trabajo profesional me enfoco principalmente en retratar personas.
Mis clientes son empresas, consultorios médicos y agencias. Además, soy un empleado a tiempo parcial en la catedral de Colonia, donde documento especialmente la preservación del monumento. Desde hace muchos años estoy enganchada a materiales de película instantánea. Me encanta que no hay reglas, por lo que estoy libre de convenciones y estándares fotográficos. Eso me permite solo centrarme en el motivo.
Polaroid es juguetón y el manejo de éste es casi un poco infantil, sin embargo, el Material instantáneo también puede ser un desafío. Es como una apuesta entre sorpresa, frustración y diversión. Este carácter de experiencia compensa mi vida laboral.
Julia Beyer
ENG // Dreamlike landscapes and surreal atmospheres are the visual language of Julia Beyer from Germany that she expresses mainly on instant film. In 2014, she began to delve into this photographic art form and since then expands her portfolio continuously. Her work is featured in the Photodarium (formerly Poladarium) calendar 2016 – 2019, various international online and offline magazines (e.g. Blur Magazine, Analog Mag, Monochrome Mag) and has been exhibited in the USA, France and Germany (Bombay Beach Biennale, Expolaroid, Instant Art Arles & Paris, etc.). Since 2017, she is a member of the renowned “12:12 Project”.
Her work is currently showcased by Stefanie Schneider’s online “Instant Dreams” Gallery on Artsy.net and 1stdibs.com. Besides photography, Julia also expresses her creativity by singing in the Dreampop band Chandeen.
Lilian Wildeboer
ENG // My name is Lilian Wildeboer Living in the Netherlands near Amsterdam.
I’m an analog Instant photographer and a lover of old and new instant film.There’s a magic in instant film that captures me. I use the SX70 land camera and theSpectra 1200i a lot. I have different ways, techniques and methods of using the old polaroid cameras Also I use old expired polaroid film and it is so much fun to work with it. I try to recycle all off the fails by creating a new polaroid image by cutting, separating layering manipulate painting, glue and even burning.
For the theme ‘’Shadow is a color” I made a portrait, where I covered the model’s eyes, and layering old polaroid pieces. Passion and desire are often in woman’s shadows.
ESP // Mi nombre es Lilian Wildeboer, vivo en los Países Bajos, cerca de Ámsterdam.
Soy una fotógrafa en analógico e instantáneo y amante de la vieja y nueva película polaroid instantánea. Hay una magia en la película instantánea que me cautivó. Utilizo mucho la SX70 land camera y la Spectra 1200i. Tengo diferentes formas, técnicas y métodos de uso de las antiguas cámaras polaroid. También uso una película polaroid caducada y con la cual es muy divertido trabajar. Intento reciclar todo. Los fallos al crear una nueva imagen polaroid al cortar, separar las capas, manipular la pintura, pegar e incluso quemar.
Para el tema “Shadow is a color” hice un retrato y cubrí sus ojos. Acoplando viejas piezas polaroid.
La pasión y el deseo están a menudo en las sombras de la mujer.
Louise Westbrooke
ENG // Louise Westbrooke is a photographer from the north of England. She has been creating work using the Polaroid integral film medium for approximately four years, after finding an old Polaroid camera in a charity shop. Her work is created using vintage SX-70s, the Impossible Instant Lab to produce ‘labgrams’ (a technique that she has passed on to other artists) and, more recently, the Onestep+. She is inspired by nature, her home county of Yorkshire and her travels further afield.
Marjolaine Vuarnesson
ENG // For profession I am a financial controller, nothing to do with photography. Self-taught and passionate, I first expressed myself by painting and sculpture before swapping my brushes for a camera a few years ago . I have always exhibited my work, simply to confront the eyes of others, to exchange and progress.
I always had a camera with me to immortalize moments, keep memories. But it was in 2014 that my first photographic series was selected for an exhibition, in a place where I had previously exhibited as a painter. I then understood that photography was a new universe to explore, a new way of expressing myself.
In 2016, I had the opportunity to exhibit at the Rastoll Gallery (Paris 3rd). I exhibited my work in photography, painting and sculpture, which represented 20 years of artistic approach. I feel that each exhibition gives me new ideas for future projects, the opportunity to tell a new story.
My environment inspires me a lot. I live in contact with water and nature, and you can find landscapes from my environment in my photos.
My instant photography work evolved according to the stories that I want to tell. In April 2018, I presented a new work composed of several polaroid from negatives. This allowed me to scan and be able to exit the 8×8 format and give another dimension to instant photography. This work has been exhibited in Paris and Arles in 2018.
I present you for the exhibition “Shadow is a colour” a photography named “I have a dream”, a self-portrait in double exposure.
Paola Ruvioli
ENG // My love for photography began immediately after receiving my first camera, a Polaroid SX-70 on her seventh birthday. Since then I have studied and made photographs around the world, enriching the content and narrative potential of my artistic vision. I holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Cagliari in Sardenia, Italy.
My work focuses on the intimate relationship between individuals, and their unique psychological perspective in the worlds we inhabit, with particular sensitivity to human behavior. My images investigate the myriad sensations and perceptions encountered in our daily surroundings, with the intention of reflecting back more acutely to viewers their emotionally resonant potential . By referencing specific moods viewers are inspired to revisit sensations and passages into parallel realities typical of the world of dreams and their interpretation, creating emotional pathways that attempt to reveal the secrets of who we are in our inner and outer worlds.
Paula Martina Alvarez
ESP // Natural de Galicia, me regalaron mi primera cámara Polaroid con nueve años por mi primera comunión. Aquella festividad eclesiástica que no significaba nada para mi pero que supuso el comienzo de mi aventura con la fotografía.
Después de aquello continué retratando lo que me rodeaba, no fué sin embargo hasta que me mudé a Italia donde entendí que continuaría a invertir parte de mi tiempo ( y dinero) en conservar la luz, sombras, formas, colores, lugares y personas que me inspiraban.
La magia de la fotografía instantánea y mi miedo crónico al olvido me incentivaron a inmortalizar momentos y crear así mi colección de pedacitos de memória. Trozos de papel a 6X6 que nada más mirarlos me harían revivir incluso el olor del momento, del instante guardado en mi memoria y reflejado en el papel. Mi prueba irrefutable de que aquel momento existió.
Actualmente trabajo como veterinaria en Portugal, y las Polaroids así como la música, continúan siendo un arma de refugio personal.
ENG // Born in Galicia, I have got my first Polaroid camera with nine years for my first communion. That ecclesiastical holiday that meant nothing to me but that was the beginning of my adventure with photography.
After that I continued to portray what surrounded me, it was not until I moved to Italy where I understood that I would continue to invest part of my time (and money) in conserving the light, shadows, shapes, colors, places and people that I they inspired.
The magic of instant photography and my chronic fear of oblivion encouraged me to immortalize moments and thus create my collection of pieces of memory. Pieces of paper to 6X6 that just look at them would make me relive even the smell of the moment, the moment stored in my memory and reflected in the paper. My irrefutable proof that that moment existed.
I currently work as a veterinarian in Portugal, and the Polaroids as well as music, continue to be a weapon of personal refuge.
Penny Felts
ENG // I grew up with a Navy dad, and a stay at home mom. Instead of jewelry, my dad always bought my mom a new camera at every port. There are suitcases full of life moments, bad or good, exciting or mundane, it’s all there. The best part about this story is that I got many of her hand me down cameras. I took photography classes starting in middle school. I love film. I love the smell of fixer. I mostly love the instant gratification of instant film. I commandeered moms first Polaroid camera when I was 15.
I realized that instant film was my true medium much later in life. Right before Polaroid decided to stop making it, in fact. I had been experimenting with lifts, transfers, and manipulations, and felt I had finally found the way to get what I saw in my mind, onto film. I am truly grateful for The Impossible Project who allowed me to continue along my path.
Today, every photo I shoot is like a page in my diary. There are little stories of my life that I add to each one. I think of it all as an ode to my mother.
Solene Milcent
ENG // Solène Milcent is a French photographer currently based in Barcelona. Growing up in a rural area in the west of France she feels a very strong connection with the nature and the Earth. She uses mostly analog photography as a need to slow down time; away from high technology, screens, busy and fast life. Nature, people, visual poetry are her favorite subjects. Her work is about cold winter, self portrait in the warm desert, moment of grace, people gazes, lost feelings in a big city.
ESP // Solène Milcent es una fotógrafa francesa que reside actualmente en Barcelona. Al crecer en una zona rural en el oeste de Francia siente una conexión muy fuerte con la naturaleza y la tierra. Ella utiliza la mayoría de las fotografías analógicas como una necesidad de ralentizar el tiempo, lejos de la alta tecnología, las pantallas, la vida ocupada y rápida. Naturaleza, Gente, poesía visual son sus asignaturas favoritas. Su trabajo es sobre el frío invierno, el autorretrato en el cálido desierto, el momento de gracia, las miradas de la gente, los sentimientos perdidos en una gran ciudad