The Photographers Gallery: Wim Wenders ‘Instant Stories’ (Polaroid)
Valley of the Gods, Utah, 1977 © Wim Wenders Courtesy Deutsches Filminstitut Frankfurt.
I like to mix it up a bit when I see exhibitions, sometimes ill head to London and go to an art exhibition, other times i'll go to a graphic design exhibition, and every now and again i'll go to a historical themed one. This time I felt the need for a photography based one, so when I found out about The Photographer’s Gallery just off Oxford Street I thought why not. Through the busyness of Oxford Circus tube station onto Oxford Street, I found my self being diverted down a couple of back streets to find the illusive Photographers Gallery. Its strange to think that the amount of times I’ve been to Oxford Street that I’ve never known the Photographers Gallery is just around the corner. The exhibition I visited was Wim Wenders’ ‘Instant Stories’ exhibition which was divided between the top two floors of the building. With this in mind I decided to purchase the day pass which was four of my English pounds and allowed me entry to all the exhibitions at the gallery. The beauty I find about going to an exhibition featuring a photographer I haven’t heard of before is that it has more of an impact and becomes more memorable than trawling through photography books and liking certain pictures but never remembering the name of them.
Although he was primarily a film maker, Wim Wender’s ’Instant Stories’ exhibition takes you mainly through his first time journey to America and his fascination of American culture through images captures by the lens of a prototype of the SX70 instant Polaroid camera. What made this exhibition memorable for me is the fact that exhibition consisted of original polaroid photographs. Unlike a variety of photography exhibitions I’ve been to before where the artists work is blown up and displayed, these were simply standard polaroid pictures that had been framed. I found this quite intimate in that respect as you had to get up close to view and analyse each frame almost as if you’re looking through the view finder of the camera itself or even a porthole into the past. The unique characteristic of instant polaroid photography is that it literally captures that moment in time and it cannot be replicated unlike film roll photography. Even the way a polaroid film is developed, in the way its often over or under exposed which fits perfectly with capturing that 1970’s Americana experience in this exhibition.
New York Parade, 1972 © Wim Wenders Courtesy Wim Wenders Foundation.
My only gripe on this exhibition is that although I took the time to look in detail at each displayed polaroid, I kind of wish the exhibition was a bit larger. Although it was over two floors, I was immersed in the photographic style the polaroid captures. In these days where the style of the original polaroid can be captured by numerous filters on a typical smartphone or on apps like snapchat, it bypasses the raw, hands on approach of instant photography which isn’t as popular I don’t think in this modern era of smartphones and digital cameras. Having said that, in all honesty, this exhibition has got me thinking about buying a polaroid camera to take on my next trip away to Copenhagen.
The 'Instant Stories' exhibition is displayed until 11 Feb 2018.
Check out The Photography Gallery to see whats on : www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk