In an Instant

In an Instant: Polaroid at the Intersection of Art and Technology

In an age where apps provide instant services and smartphones allow us to capture just about anything and everything in an instant, the culture of now has never been so prevalent.

Its origins can perhaps be traced back to the late 1940s when Edwin Land first introduced the Polaroid camera to the world, marking a technological breakthrough in the history of photography. Instant photography was born, predating the digital age in which we live today.

Polaroid’s unique qualities inspired artists and photographers including Andy Warhol, Ansel Adams, Lucas Samaras and Barbara Crane, while capturing the imagination of everyone else. In allowing people to capture a shared moment and to memorialise it in an instant, Polaroid was arguably perceived as the social network of its time.

Through a wide range of Polaroid artworks and artefacts, this exhibition offers insight into the story of Polaroid photography, while exploring the impact of instant photography and this social phenomenon of instantaneity on us today.

Admission charges apply, the exhibition runs from 10 November 2018 to 31 March 2019.