Since last 5 October the
new Polaroid artist Chiara Aru, 20, aka Banshee.Zink exposes in the
"Quattro Morsi" of Cagliari her first solo exhibition.
Polaroid arts are not
something really new for Cagliari, but for Sardinia and Italy in
general this art is still considered 'of niche'.
With the great boom of
Photoshop, Instagram and more, this style of photography is relegated
to an 'artists' niche' who try to promote it through exhibitions and
online publications.
But photo-manipulation is
possible only with the help of the computer?
For Banshee.Zink that is
not correct.
"My artistic style
been founded in response to the photo digital manipulation, trying to
rediscover the beauty of manually photo-editing."
In a time in which you can
edit your photos with computer and digital programmes, few people
knows the possibility of tools seemingly trivial as, for example, the
Polaroid printer.
With it you can create
artistic photos who seem edited with computer but with “A higher
value because you didn't make it using a virtual program, but with
your hands " said Banshee.Zink
So, how does it works?
"This small printer
creates images using ZINK technology, which is out of ink because it
is already contained in the type of paper created for this printer"
explained the artist.
"This paper is called
Zero-Ink and is created with special crystalline that, through
thermal process give the colour. This peculiarity give the
possibility to edit pictures before and after printing by acting
directly on the paper"
Sandpaper, acetone, scotch
tape can create small or large changes "damaging" the
crystalline in order to create really special effect.
For explain how she edit
her works Banshee.Zink presented one of her most cherished picture:
"Sofi need a ladder" (also chosen 'photo of the month' in
March 2012 on 'Polaroid Art Italy'.)
“Before printing I
took the sandpaper and I run it on all sides of the card, then I
printed and I run the acetone over the hair, the eyes and the mouth
of the first girl on the left stripping away the colour and leaving
only a blue patina.”
“Then, above the
eyes of the girl on the right I attached a piece of black paper with
just the scotch tape and I run again the acetone for create a sort of
'cut' between the two faces ".
Every picture stems from
the emotions, sudden impulses that rise to the surface almost by
accident (a bit like the cry of the Banshee that comes out with
violence, overriding everything else).
"I choose only photos
that have a meaning for me" explains Banshee.Zink.
“They could be
pictures that I took by myself or that I found on internet. The most
important thing is that they have a meaning, maybe they represent one
of my passion or something that impressed me”
It can be anything, even
news items "For example, in one of my next project I want to
edit the photos of Federico Aldrovandi and Chiara Poggi who are two
murder cases, respectively one killed by the police and the other
not yet identified."
The desire to edit those
photos stems from the need to keep alive the memory of these events.
Although she isn't
personally link with anyone of the two victims, while she was spiking
of these events she turned, her expression changed and she started to
gesture with more emphasis.
Her words reflected the
need to express the feelings that these two events have imprinted on
her.
As the Banshee, she needs
to scream.
Francesca Rita Loi
Photos by Roberta Lai
Full Gallery on http://www.flickr.com/photos/68915182@N03/