Curated by Molly Surno

Heist Gallery is proud to present 12 Instances, a group exhibition of Polaroids curated by photographer Molly Surno. In an age where all forms of communication are instant, this show holds particular historical importance because the Polaroid was the first instant image. Instant gratification is imperative and yet, within the context of photography, such a concept is at once entrenched and obsolete. The digital age has officially and permanently replaced the era of the Polaroid, photography’s once tantalizing answer to instant satisfaction.

The Polaroid once provided the medium with a streamlined simplicity that reduced the photographic gesture to its essentials of vision, immediate capture and instant reproduction of form. The immediacy of this technique is at once intimate and direct but also delicate, existing in only a single print, with no possibility for reproduction. Walker Evans once noted that his Polaroid SX-70 camera “reduces everything to your brains and taste,” allowing the photographer to capture at whim while maintaining the aesthetic integrity of a unique art object. Evans came to the Polaroid camera in his 70s after years of photographic exploration and experimentation; Robert Mapplethorpe recently showcased his Polaroid images at the Whitney; Phillip Lorca-Dicorcia’s exhibition of 1000 Polaroids at David Zwirner created a labyrinthine path around the gallery while other photographers continue to explore this defunct medium.

12 Instances is an homage and revelation of the spontaneous and vast potential of the instant image, whose legacy is continued by Fujifilm, USA Inc. Curator Molly Surno has selected eleven other artists who exhibit 4-10 Polaroid photographs in the first part of this exhibition.

Fujifilm has replaced the Polaroid film with INSTAX 200 and awarded each participating artist with a Fujifilm camera and INSTAX 200 film to transition past the end of the Polaroid through a new and equally gratifying instant film. As part of the Fujifilm grant, artists will shoot and compile a subsequent series with the INSTAX 200 film, Fujifilm’s new version of the instant image photograph, and exhibit that several months later.

This exhibition will present work by Andreas Konrath, Braden King, Grant Worth, Jem Cohen, Joe Howansky, Molly Surno, Olivia Wyatt, Paul Baumann, Peter Ruprecht, Shaun Kessler, Tasha Lutek, Victor Gutierrez.