In my series intractable, I let the 4 elements (water, earth, fire and air) control the polaroids I have photographed. I simply take the polaroid, the act of the elements ‘destroying’ or ‘creating’ it, giving it life and its own essence is what is crucial as opposed to the fact I took a polaroid. The elements are an ontological approach to my comprehension of existence. Using the notion of abstraction, which is ideally a portrayal of the inner states and the invisible, I have attempted to re-examine an aspect of existence, while experimenting with form and materiality of the elements. This led to experiments with different processes although of the same element. For fire, I let the polaroid develop in the microwave or with a lighter. For water, I let the polaroid run under the tap. By using the elements to control the images, I have hoped to ‘destroy’ and get rid of essentially what’s ‘important’ in the photograph.
Is it still a photograph of me if you cannot see it anymore? I questioned not just the nature of existence as a whole but the nature of existence in a photograph, especially the polaroid since it is known to encapsulate a moment just as it is.
