Polaroid image taken 11 April 1970, mounted on Polaroid adhesive card stock
A Polaroid snap taken by my mother of my wife and I. I was being posted to Germany with the Army and my wife was accompanying me. Mum wanted a keepsake photo. Obviously, a set up photo, the awkard position of th subjects especially me. The setting brings back many memories of family gatherings in this, my grandparents, house. A casual observer might think it is a photo of newlyweds based on the position of my left hand that shows my wedding ring and the endearing look in our eyes. We's been married two and a half-years but the look in our eyes was genuine.
THe polaroids, as one-off originals, have an aura of authenticity that no other photographic method has (ok, maybe a daguerrotype). I can see why this image is special, and I particularly enjoy seeing the house decorations and artefacts on the mantel piece which tell us so much about the material culture of the family. If you want to conserve it you might want to check that the mount (glue and card stock) are acid free - Polaroids seem to be a continuous challenge for conservation. Silvia
ReplyDeleteThanks for the conservation advice.
ReplyDeleteThe artefacts on the mantel piece do help to keep the memory of place an people strong in my memory. Some might think the Kero lamp is just a decoration but it was an operating light when the electricity went off.
Even the blue stone of the fire place provides memories as the quarry it came from was only a couple of KM away, although abandoned and used as a tip site by local it is where I learned to shoot. We often went there to shoot rats amongst the garbage.