The Polaroids chosen for this exhibition were selected by the artist from his archive compiled from a prolific career of film and magazine assignments spanning almost two decades.
In the early 1990s, when Aldridge embarked upon a career in editorial fashion photography, using Polaroid was a standard part of a photographer’s working method. Using a Rolleiflex enabled Aldridge to switch between Polaroid and regular film on the same camera. On set, these instant snapshots develop within minutes, and allow Aldridge to check and manipulate the scene quickly, adjusting set and model before changing to standard film to shoot the final image. Aldridge has remained committed to shooting in film, enjoying the 1940s/50s painterly Hollywood aesthetic that celluloid allows. Today, he continues to use Polaroids to pre-check and document his shoots.
Each of the selected works is a unique object that has taken on new life beyond its preparatory intention. The chosen Polaroids have elements of intrigue, a model caught between poses; or evidence of the artist’s handling, a melted surface, creases, tears and annotations. The figure is often blurred, or completely absent, ambiguities which create an abstract, cinematic narrative of their own.
