Double Polaroids 1975 - 1997


Ivo von Renner's Polaroid montages tell stories from a bygone era and work with the means of their time.

Ivo's "Double Polaroids" series began in 1975. The self-taught photographer, who was at the beginning of his career at the time, borrowed one of these trendy instant cameras. He actually only wanted to use it to photograph his new girlfriend on the beach in San Sebastian, Spain. But because the beach was very narrow and the camera, an SX-70, only had a normal focal length, Ivo decided to take two pictures instead of one. Simply to capture more of the situation. He later cut up the two Polas in the hotel bathroom with a pair of nail scissors and then put them together, not quite accurately. What began as a bit of fun became the format for a magazine report on Moscow that same year. Ivo then continued with the subject for twenty years until 1995. The best of his originals are now traded in the five-figure range.    Christoph Künne / docma