90 The openings of the exhibitions coincided with the expiry of the last batch of Polaroid film, making them a poignant celebration ‘of an iconographic photographic format that is on the verge of extinction’. But there is hope for Polaroid lovers yet, in the form of ‘The Impossible Project’, an organisation created by a team of Dutch scientists and Polaroid enthusiasts who have set themselves the task of reinventing Polaroid’s instant film for vintage Polaroid cameras, acquiring the
film production equipment from a former Polaroid factory, a 10-year lease agreement on the factory building and the attention of the most experienced team of Integral Film experts worldwide, in light of the influential global campaign to keep instant film in manufacture. The Project aims to re-launch Polaroid in 2010 for a new generation of instant camera users and of course, its devoted fans. But is there still a market for instant cameras when digital cameras
allow you to crop, edit or delete photos in the blink of an eye? Florian Kaps, the Austrian entrepreneur behind the Project, and every person in support of the campaign definitely think so. In an age where we are so used to images being airbrushed to perfection that our perception of normality has been distorted, there is something refreshingly real about instant photographs. Here’s hoping ‘The Impossible Project’ is possible. c
Photograph: Alicia Schultz www.beaphotograph.com