Polaroids
Opening: Thursday, 6 March 2025, 7 pm
On 6 March 2025 in conjunction with EMOP Berlin 2025, the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin will debut Polaroids, a new group exhibition featuring works by Helmut Newton and numerous other acclaimed photographers.
The Polaroid process revolutionized photography in the 1960s. Those familiar with Polaroid cameras will recall the distinctive odor of the developing emulsion and the thrill of watching an image appear instantly. Depending on the camera model, some prints developed autonomously, while others required the manual application of a chemical coating to fix the image. Though not a direct technical precursor to digital photography, Polaroid can be seen as its analogue precursor due to its immediate accessibility. Polaroids are typically considered unique prints. This innovative imaging technology found enthusiastic users worldwide across nearly all photographic genres – landscape, still life, portrait, fashion, and nude photography. Helmut Newton often used a range of Polaroid cameras and instant film backs that replaced the traditional roll film in his medium format cameras. From the 1970s until his death, he primarily used Polaroids as tools for visual sketches, lighting tests, and composition studies during his fashion shoots. Initially created as preliminary studies, Newton published a dedicated book of these images in 1992, followed by a second volume released posthumously in 2011. Both titles remain in circulation today. Some of Newton’s Polaroids, signed as standalone works, are now highly sought after on the art market.
The archive of the Helmut Newton Foundation holds hundreds of these original Polaroids, some of which were transferred from the Newton residence in Monte Carlo after the death of June Newton. A new representative selection of these works has now been assembled, complemented by enlargements originally produced for an exhibition curated by June Newton at the Helmut Newton Foundation in 2012.
In this new group exhibition, Newton’s Polaroids are presented alongside numerous works by other photographers, in collaboration with WestLicht/OstLicht in Vienna, whose extensive Polaroid collection was made available to curator Matthias Harder. The exhibition explores a diverse range of Polaroid processes and formats, and features experimental treatments of individual prints and larger tableaus.
