Polaroid Decay & The Unpredictability Of Art

Edge of Humanity Magazine

6 hours ago

Photographer Natalia L Rudychev is an Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘Polaroid Decay – Metamorphoses’. To see Natalia’s body of work, click on any photograph.

I believe that life defies calculation and planning. Margot in Hitchcock’s film “Dial M for Murder” is framed twice: to be killed and then to go to prison. But life did not fit into a perfect plan, and she was saved twice. Happy accidents are beautifully uplifting both in life and art.

When I pick up my Polaroid One Step+ it is usually to photograph something that is very personal. I want to capture a fleeting emotion or an inexpressible in words state of the mind. The resulting image reflects a moment too intimate to share with the world. I submerge the polaroid photographs in water and let them metamorphose until they hold just enough visual information to evoke the emotion that brought them into being. The images that survive being in the water for a week or two present a subtle take on Heidegger’s interplay between “concealment” and “unconcealment”.

I love the Polaroid decay process for its unpredictability. The process speaks to me because you are taking a risk to ruin one-of-a-kind print in order to MAYBE create something beautiful. It is the same in life. It is the best gift when someone takes a risk to be with you, being fully aware you may die, be sick, broke or one day emotionally distant. Looking back is what brought Eurydice back into the realm of shadows. When someone believes in you it is truly beautiful.

1st Place Winner/Analog/Other Professional Category International Photography Awards 2024

Natalia L Rudychev is an award-winning New York and Paris based photographer, multidisciplinary artist (writer, performer, print maker) and curator. She is best known for her work with the aesthetics of wabi-sabi.

Natalia’s lens based art has been exhibited in New York at Foley Gallery, Soho Photo Gallery, Culture Lab LIC, Westbeth Art Gallery, Brooklyn Art Cave, Cargo Project Gallery, as well as in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago and internationally in Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Glasgow, Le Mans, Aix-en-Provence, Torino, Milan, Tokyo and Arles.

Her work is in public collections of the California State Library, Haiku Literature Museum in Japan and Duquesne University Library. Her haiku photobooks have been awarded. She is a Fulbright Scholar, a member of The Photo Group, a poet, a dancer, and studied Philosophy of Art in the PHD program at Duquesne University.

Natalia's recent awards include: the Bronze Book-Fine Art award at the 2024 International Tokyo Foto Awards, two honorable mentions at the 2024 Minimalist Photography Awards, an honorable mention at the 2024 Julia Margaret Cameron Photography Awards, 1st place in Analog/Film/Other at the 2024 International Photography Awards, and the Gold award in the Zines and Photo Books/Other category at the 2024 Analog Sparks International Film Photography Awards. Additionally, her book "Haiku Céruléen" has been selected for the Ephemere Photographic Books Library in Japan. She is featured in the official program of three photography festivals in France in 2025. She is also part of the official program of the Ephemere Photo Fest 2025 in Tokyo, Japan and received 3rd prize from the jury of Unique Impressions exhibition, Salmagundi Art Club, New York, New York in 2026. Natalia’s Polaroid work was featured in the exhibition on the official program of the 2026 Festival (Off), Arles and her artist book Instants was just awarded Silver prize at the 2026 Analog Sparks International Film Photography Awards.

All images and text © Natalia L Rudychev