From digital to handmade
The Polaroid emulsion lift process in a nutshell
Each image begins with a digital photograph. From hundreds of images, I select, edit, and crop each one into a square format before printing it onto Polaroid film - using the Polaroid Lab - one frame at a time. The Polaroid is soaked in warm water until its fragile emulsion, the very thin layer that holds the image, separates from its backing and floats to the surface.
I then lift it and place it onto paper or handmade ceramic tile, where I shape it into its final form. It wrinkles, folds and sometimes is torn. No two Polaroid lifts are identical. Each one is a unique object, the result of hours of preparation, patience, and a process that forgives very little errors.
For me, this sequence of transformations, always creates a one of a kind image, a delightful surprise every time.
