“Magic trick” features a collection of Polaroid images from the works of Chinese and European photographers who do not specialize in this medium, but rather, use it as a tool of experimentation in photography - an instantaneous and single take approach. The selection includes well established as well as anonymous artists and young photographers, chosen by l’Atelier, an art institution that supports emerging international photographers.

At a time when digital photography has become the choice means of expression for amateurs and professional photographers alike, when great numbers of images can be collected on a virtual support, allowing for “home-made” prints to be made in a instant, one cannot but compare this technology with Polaroid, which is both its genitor and its opposite – uniqueness and instantaneity revealed through the work of the artist.

The intimate, magical and singular characters of the process forcefully capture instants, and freeze them in a time capsule, suspended between past and future, and where incongruous and inadvertent details infuse the image with a timeless and poetic quality that often goes beyond the conjurer’s initial will.

This collection, presented as a “curios cabinet”, mixes the visions of both creators and anonymous photographers to delineate the contemporary panorama of Polaroid – in both its artistic and popular usages.
 
Featured Artists:
Veronique Bourgoin (France)
JH Engstrom (Sweeden)
Martin Kipperberger (Germany)
Nina Korhonen (Finland)
Suzanne Pastor (Czech Republic)
Anders Petersen (Sweeden)
Alberto Rojas Maza (Spain)
Antoine dʼAgata (France)
 
Young Photographers Selected by lʻAtelier Reflexe & Cobertura Photo: 
Manuela Bohme (Germany)
Thomas Brosset (France)
Sophie Carlier (France)
Rodrigo Gomez Reina (Spain)
Josquin Gouilly Frossard (France)
Margot Wallard (France)
 
Annonymous Polaroids from:
Lumiere des Roses Gallery (France)
Silverbridge (France) 
Idealglass Galerie (USA)
 
"There is something magical about watching an image develop in your hands..."
 
Curated by Veronique Bourgouin Presented by Caochangdi PhotoSpring and Art Channel Gallery