With the support of L’Istituto Italiano di Cultura Sud Africa, Chiara Agradi visits Cape Town to explore the contrasts and resonances of photographic practice between Italy and South Africa, with a particular interest in the use of Polaroid as a medium and a process tool. She cites Polaroid’s invention of instant, automatic image publishing as a “radical revolution in terms of technology, society and culture”, investigating in depth its use by artists, but also by government agencies, and commercial and amateur photographers.
Currently based in Paris, Agradi is working towards a PhD at École du Louvre and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Her area of research is the correlation between the commercial activities of the Polaroid company and artistic creation, focusing on the practice of Italian photographers from the seventies to the present day.
The research project is aimed at creating an Italian-South African photographic exhibition.
The progress of the research will be presented to the public at the A4 Foundation on Saturday 31 May.