Composition/Decomposition

Composition/Decomposition reflects the aging process through the polaroid positives’ transient nature. Representing the passing of time and the acceptance that nothing is fixed or permanent. For this project I used Polaroid Type 55 film; a black and white peel apart Polaroid film that yields both a positive print and a negative image This particular film has interesting and unique characteristics. One of these characteristics being, the positive’s delicate and transient nature. I found that if I did not coat the resulting positive with hardening fixer, it’s image would decompose/oxidize in completely unpredictable ways. Having the negative already as my fixed image, I allowed my positives to age, oxidize, and decompose without interference. The body of work, originally shot in 2004 and 2005, is the resultant Type 55 Polaroid positives after ten years of aging and decay. I found inspiration for this project in the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi; an aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.