Sandi Fellman (*1952)
»Penna«, 1983
The fashion photographer Sandi Fellman became known in the art world with her series on traditional Japanese full-body tattooing, which was made popular again by yakuza gangs. Particularly influential were her still lifes from the 1980s – exquisite compositions of flowers, feathers, lace and ethereal body parts, which she photographed from above with a 20x24-inch instant camera. The brilliant colours and layered nature of the Polaroid emulsion, which »has a relief, like Japanese lacquer painting«, suited her work.
Her scenarios have a seductive sensuality that is less erotic than suggestive: Fellman hints at stories that celebrate the complexity of life without being narrative. In the construction of her constellations, which unite the simple and the complex, the natural and the man-made, the Polaroid process allows her spontaneity: »They are a bit like automatic writing - instinctual creations that simply happen rather than being planned, but they express deep inner truths«.
PolaColor 20x24, print date: Vintage / Unique
Image dimensions 61 x 51 cm (61 x 51 inch)
Object dimensions 77 x 55,8 cm (77 x 55,8 inch)
Mounting, Framing Archival cardboard mat 90 x 70 cm, frame on request
Annotations
Signed and dated »Sandi Fellman ’83« in ink in the lower margin, former Polaroid Coll. no. »83:682:73« on the reverse
Literature
Amy M. Schiffman, Sandi Fellman: Beyond the Surface, in: Graphis Journal Magazine, #253, January / February 1988, Coverstory
Prints / Stillleben / Farbfotografie /