The Impossible Project
Dating back to my pre-teens I have been captivated with the art and approach of Andy Warhol. I was lucky enough to be gifted the hardcover book, "Andy Warhol: Polaroids, Celebrities and Self-Portraits," recently. It documents Andy Warhol’s polaroid work during the last two decades of his life. Looking through the pages, I unearthed my own polaroid camera and thought to share with you one of my favourite projects I have read about in recent history.
When Polaroid announced they were ceasing production of instant film in 2008, photography lovers around the world hoped that somebody, somewhere, would do something. The Impossible Project did. Writing a new chapter in the history of photography and dedicated to instant film, The Impossible Project’s mission is not to re-build Polaroid integral film but to develop a new product with new characteristics, consisting of new optimised components, produced with a streamlined modern setup.
The Impossible Project started in October 2008 with a small team of the very best 10 former Polaroid employees. With more than 500 years accumulated experience and knowledge the began at the last preserved Polaroid plant in Enschede (The Netherlands) with the aim to save anlog Instant Photography from extinction. After 17 months of research and development, The Impossible Project announced that it succeeded in its task of re-producing a new analog Instant Film for traditional Polaroid cameras.
Today, Impossible is no longer a ‘project’ but a fast-growing company with over 140 employees in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, France, the USA and China. Its core products remain analog instant film, refurbished Polaroid cameras, as well as its own-designed range of analog instant cameras including the Instant Lab Universal. Now, at its creative headquarters in Berlin, Impossible continues to re-design analog photography for a digital generation.