Polaroid Photos Lifts – “Hide” by photographer Paul E Williams A unique series of Polaroid Lift photo art prints depicting Masks. These Polaroid Lifts were made as part of a Polaroid animation by Paul E Williams.
“Hide” Polaroid Photos Lifts Series
“Hide is an animated polaroid lift sequence depicting a wooden African tribal mask. These polaroid lift photos were part of an animated short film made by photographer Paul E Williams in 1989.
“I selected this still sequence as part of my on-gong fascination with time and and how it changes people and things. We all hide behind masks to that so often traps us in a representation of ourselves that in-prisons us. Society moulds us and forces us into personas that we a unhappy in, just take a look at anti-depressant drug perscription and drug abuse statistics to see the truth of this. Its hard to un-learn a lifetimes propaganda that has been forced into us but its not impossible,” Paul E Williams
Technique. The mask photos were originally made on 120 Ektachrome using a Mamiya RB 67. The resultant transparencies were then copied onto 10×8 colour polaroid using a Sinar P view camera. The emulsion was then carefully lifted off the 10×8 Polaroid prints and laid in a shallow tray of water. The polaroids were then animated and the action photographed onto 120 ektachrome film. For the animation each frame of film was scanned and compiled into the final animation in After Effects. In 2020 Paul E Williams reconstructed the animation in 4K.