Borland, Polly. SMUDGE.
14/02/2011.
Exhibition. GLORIA Gallery [MAD]
metalocus
metalocus
SMUDGE exhibition catalogue GLORIA, Madrid.
“Looking at the photographs now I am moved in the same way I so often am when confronted with Polly’s extraordinary photographs. Whether they are the magnificent, life-affirming photographs of the adult baby series, the terrifying erotic distortions of her Bunny pictures or the strange, doomed creatures in these pages, I am struck by Polly’s deep love for her subjects and the dignity that exists in their dysmorphia. And it is this that draws us tentatively towards her pictures, the love and the lack of judgement. Because her pictures are never voyeuristic, never observational and never merely shocking. Rather Polly seems to me to be shooting into a distorted mirror and simply bringing back heartbreaking refracted images of herself.” Nick Cave.
Borland, Polly (Sydney, Australia)
Polly Borland (Sydney, Australia) has done an immense amount of work for English and North American publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times and The Independent. She has also collaborated on CD covers for musicians from Cave himself to Goldfrapp. In 1994 she won the prestigious John Kobal Award.
Her work can be found in numerous institutions and collections, from The National Portrait Gallery of London and its Australian counterpart, to the Murderme Collection of Damien Hirst, who acquired the entire Bunny series, Borland's second work. Powerhouse published her first book, The Babies, with an essay by Susan Sontag, in 2001; that same year she was among the eight photographers who were chosen to portray Queen Elizabeth II at her Golden Jubilee. Polly Borland also worked with Lauren Child on her last two children's books for Puffin, which recreates classic stories and legends.