Years ago, when I was in university I was a Polaroid artist; essentially, I had a contract with Polaroid to share my knowledge and aid others in adopting the cameras and films for their artistic endeavors. I don’t think I ever really benefited from it financially but it was a company I had a great passion for and was happy to share what I knew which was very focused on the Polaroid transfer process.
Fast forward to today and Polaroid has gone away and been reborn, but sadly the peel-apart film industry is gone; Fuji stopped production years back leaving only a few stalwarts trying to rectify that market. I still have a cache of Fuji FP-100 film that I am carefully using before it totally spoils but when it is gone, that will be the last peel-apart films for me.
However, we still have instant film with The Impossible Project, now rebranded as Polaroid, leading the way. And although you cannot create image transfers any more with their product, their film line still allows the ability to create artwork from emulsion lifts.
I plan on creating more works this year and documenting the process for posterity, so follow the blog for more updates.
Until then, here are a few image transfers and emulsion lifts created during the pandemic using Fuji and Impossible Project (now Polaroid) films.
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