Untitled (City of Industry) - 2004

38x36cm,
Edition of 5 plus 2 Artist Proofs.
Analog C-Print, hand-printed by the artist, based on the original Polaroid.
Certificate and Signature label.
Artist Inventory #379.
Not mounted.

Stefanie Schneider lives and works in the high desert of Southern California where her scintillating situations take place in the American West. Situated on the verge of an elusive super-reality, her photographic sequences provide the ambiance for loosely woven storylines and a cast of phantasmic characters. 

Schneider's Polaroid photography is often described as "timeless," "nostalgic," and "dreamlike." Her use of expired Polaroid film, with its unpredictable colors and textures, creates a sense of unreality in her images and creating a sense of fragmentation and ambiguity that blurs the boundaries between past and present, and it creates a sense of memory as a fluid, shifting concept. Schneider's interest in Americana motifs, particularly those associated with the 1950s and 1960s, speaks to a sense of longing for a bygone era. Her images of motels, diners, and vintage cars evoke a sense of nostalgia for a time that may never have existed in reality. At the same time, these motifs are often paired with images of decay and abandonment, which suggest a darker, more complex interpretation of the American dream. 



Schneider's depictions of women are also a significant aspect of her art. Her female subjects are often depicted in states of undress, but the images are not intended to be exploitative or objectifying. Rather, they are intended to explore the complexity of human relationships and emotions. Schneider's women are often depicted in moments of vulnerability, suggesting a sense of shared humanity and a challenge to traditional notions of female beauty and perfection. 



Overall, Schneider's Polaroid photography is a deeply evocative exploration of memory, nostalgia, and the human experience. Her art challenges viewers to question their own perceptions of reality and to consider the complex, shifting nature of time and memory. 



Stefanie Schneider received her MFA in Communication Design at the Folkwang Schule Essen, Germany. Her work has been shown at the Museum for Photography, Braunschweig, Museum für Kommunikation, Berlin, the Institut für Neue Medien, Frankfurt, the Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden, Kunstverein Bielefeld, Museum für Moderne Kunst Passau, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Foto -Triennale Esslingen, Bombay Beach Biennale. 



SELECTED COLLECTIONS:
DZ Bank, Frankfurt, Germany, ARTISTS for TICHY  - TICHY for ARTISTS, TICHY Ocean Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg, Germany, Collection Luc LaRochelle, Montreal, Canada, Kunstsammlung, Kanton Zug, Switzerland, Sir Mark Fehrs Haukohl Photography Collection, USA, Bombay Beach Biennale, USA, Brooklyn Museum, USA, LACMA, USA