126 Polaroid

This special volume, published in conjunction with a 2010 exhibition at the Yokohama Museum of Art, was intended to commemorate the end of Polaroid film. In addition to showing Polaroids from a wide range of Japanese photographers, «126 Polaroid» includes four essays (translated into English) reflecting on the format. Some of the most influential photographers in Japan are represented in this book, including Hiroshi Sugimoto, Nobuyoshi Araki and Daido Moriyama. While it eventually came to light that Polaroid film would be produced by a third party, «126 Polaroid» is an important meditation on the way that this technology has affected photography. Marveling at the way that so many different photographers could be brought together «without a hitch,» critic Kotaro Iizawa writes: «I can only conclude that there must be some sort of strange and astounding magnetic field acting upon the movement surrounding Polaroid photography.»