After experiencing the idiosyncrasies of the Black and White Fujifilm FB3000B during our period of Lockdown, I decided it was time to explore the colour expired version: Fujifilm 100C. It demands a sunny, bright day at only 100 ISO and contrasting colours to enjoy its full impact. So with the Land camera’s light meter; if you can even call it that, not really working, the day being pretty dull and the film pack dating back to 2006 nothing was really going in my favour. But as ever, Polaroids and Peel-Apart film are not just about the instant photo for me, there are an abundance of treasures to be found.
Using expired colour peel-apart film produces a unique layering of image making. On my black and white peel-apart negatives The Pull, removing each film from the camera, left random, permanent light streaks interacting across many of the images. The pull on the colour negatives however, behaves in a completely different way.
Depending on the physical speed, flow and strength of the pull the negative is marked with a white substance. A purely physical fleeting act translated into a static moment of time. There is little control over the results and the outcome is purely random. Once the back layer of the negative has been bleached away a partial image emerges, not dissimilar to a photogram or a glass plate negative, but the physical action of the pull has transposed itself in an ethereal and spiritual nature. Once the front of the negatives are cleaned the marks of the human interaction will be washed away. My Ghosts express in visual terms the idea of human presence that was only momentary leaving only traces of its existence.
