NAME: Stefanie Schneider LOCATION: Berlin,
The legacy of Polaroid isn’t dead yet. An Austrian artist, businessman and Polaroid obsessive name Florian Kaps has swooped in to save the day.
Kaps has devised a plan to re-open the currently dormant Polaroid factory in Amsterdam and begin manufacturing film again. Kaps is also the founder of Polanoid.net, and Polanoir, the first ever Polaroid-only art gallery in Vienna.
The Independent reports:
Now he plans to save the film. “The project is more than a business plan; it’s a fight against the idea that everything has to die when it doesn’t create turnover,” said Mr Kaps.
Dubbed “The Impossible Project”, the development of new film for Polaroid cameras launches today. Working with the Manchester-based black and white photography company Ilford, the machinery is in place to produce film of two exposure types, each compatible with both the classic SX-70 cameras popular with artists and the more modern 600 series.
Work has begun on a prototype. By hiring 11 of the original Polaroid team from the factory floor, Mr Kaps aims to mass produce both colour and black and white film under the Impossible label by December, coinciding with the projected date that existing stocks will run out.
The Independent: “Smile! Polaroid is saved”
Via (PSFK)
