In early 2024, a collector and expert on Dalí’s work acquired a collection of SX-70 Polaroids from neighbours in Cadaqués who had frequented the Dalís. The specific authorship of these photographs cannot be determined with certainty; some were presumably taken by the artist himself or by Gala, while others may have been photographed by people in his circle. The subject matter is varied: portraits of visitors to the house in Port-Lligat, excursions to Cap de Creus and close-ups of rocks and various household objects, possibly photographed as a study. Occasionally, some small images have been altered with ink or gouache. Shortly after Polaroid launched the instant photography system, its creator, Edwin Land, sought to enhance this brilliant new technology with the image of other geniuses of the time. Thus, numerous figures of popular culture and art, such as Andy Warhol, David Hockney or Salvador Dalí, lent their faces to the company’s advertising campaigns. Their participation reflected the connection between Polaroid’s innovative technology and avant-garde art. After this initial collaboration with Dalí in 1972 for promotional purposes, Land continued to give the painter the latest models of Polaroid cameras as they came onto the market. For Dalí, these were a kind of toy with which he could enjoy playful but creative experiences. Invited by the InCadaqués Festival, Laia Abril and Joan Fontcuberta were inspired by the discovery of these photographs to undertake their own artistic projects. These projects not only dialogue with each other but also with the Dalinian atmosphere created by the Polaroids. Abril has focused on Gala’s personal objects, delving into the mystery and poetry of her intimate universe. Fontcuberta, for her part, is interested in the wild landscapes of the region, which have become the settings for surrealist representations and a refuge for various objet-trouvé. Thus, two prominent figures of their respective generations offer us two proposals full of imagination and visual intelligence, where Dalí’s inexhaustible legacy is reinterpreted through parody and seen in the light of contemporary concepts and poetics.  

exhibition from october 4 to 13, 2024 within the framework of the eighth edition of the incadaqués photography festival

installation views