POLAROIDS 1998 – 2018 by Tobias Titz

Venue: The Fox Darkroom & Gallery
Location: 10 Elizabeth St, Kensington, VIC 3031
27 Mar - 8 Apr, 2018
Web: http://www.thefoxdarkroom.com.au

This exhibition by Melbourne-based photographer Tobias Titz marks the 20th anniversary of his award winning Polaroid project. Tobias Titz’s collaborative Polaroid project has both an aesthetic and an ethical dimension, each enabled by the special properties of Polaroid technology. Titz takes two photos: the first is a portrait; the second an identical shot, taken a moment later, after the subject has walked out of the frame. This yields four images: a print and a negative of each shot. Titz hands the second, empty negative to his subject. What they scribe into the wet, coalescing emulsion is as open as the image itself: a sketch, a piece of folk wisdom, a comment on the process. In addition to sharing authorship in the final diptych, the subject also receives from Titz the original portrait print.

The exhibition shows images from the beginning of the project in Germany to new influences in Australia.

Noel Charlie, Port Hedland, Western Australia, 2011. This image won the Moran contemporary Photography Prize in 2011 and was a finalist in the National Portrait Prize 2011. Type C print from Polaroid 665. © Tobias Titz.

Walat Barka, Melbourne Australia 2015. This image is part of the “Beyond Borders” project by the MAP group. The project documents the unique experiences of asylum seekers and refugees seeking a safer life under exceptionally challenging circumstances. Coming from a range of countries including Burma, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Jordan, Colombia, Iran and Somalia, Sri Lanka, South Sudan, Palestine, Dagestan, Somalia, Congo, Uganda, Thailand and Syria, Beyond Borders highlights the participants’ multifaceted stories.
Inkjet print from Polaroid 665. © Tobias Titz. — Walat Barka, Melbourne Australia 2015. This image is part of the “Beyond Borders” project by the MAP group. The project documents the unique experiences of asylum seekers and refugees seeking a safer life under exceptionally challenging circumstances. Coming from a range of countries including Burma, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Jordan, Colombia, Iran and Somalia, Sri Lanka, South Sudan, Palestine, Dagestan, Somalia, Congo, Uganda, Thailand and Syria, Beyond Borders highlights the participants’ multifaceted stories. Inkjet print from Polaroid 665. © Tobias Titz.

Daniel and David Wilfred, Melbourne, Victoria, 2013. This image of song men Daniel and David Wilfred was a finalist in the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize 2014.
Type C print from Polaroid 665. © Tobias Titz. — Daniel and David Wilfred, Melbourne, Victoria, 2013. This image of song men Daniel and David Wilfred was a finalist in the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize 2014. Type C print from Polaroid 665. © Tobias Titz.

The Taylor family at the Karlamilyi walk, Karlamilyi National Park, Western Australia, 2016. “Come with us (Martu) we’ll walk to stop the uranium mining in our country. We will walk through Karlamilyi, not far, across Karlamilyi river. Walk through Lalapakujarra up to Purnumalarra then to Pulyjalyja – big water, up to Desert Queen Baths and then Kintyre”
Type C print from Polaroid 665. © Tobias Titz. — The Taylor family at the Karlamilyi walk, Karlamilyi National Park, Western Australia, 2016. “Come with us (Martu) we’ll walk to stop the uranium mining in our country. We will walk through Karlamilyi, not far, across Karlamilyi river. Walk through Lalapakujarra up to Purnumalarra then to Pulyjalyja – big water, up to Desert Queen Baths and then Kintyre” Type C print from Polaroid 665. © Tobias Titz.

Alum Cheedy, Roebourne, Western Australia, 2008. Alum comments on the 1967 Referendum, this image is part of the right to be counted project, this image was a finalist in the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize 2009. Type C print from Polaroid 665. © Tobias Titz.

Upcoming Events Submit an Event

February

Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light

Melbourne: 28 Nov 2025 – 26 May 2026. The exhibition celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975.

180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3006 NGV | 1 Feb - 26 May, 2026

Trent Parke: The Christmas tree bucket

Canberra: Until 6 Sept 2026. Trent Parke’s photographic series The Christmas tree bucket 2006–09 is a tender and darkly humorous portrayal of his extended family coming together to celebrate Christmas.

National Gallery of Australia (NGA) Parkes Place East, Parkes ACT 2600 | 2 Feb - 6 Sep, 2026

March

Mervyn Bishop: Close Up

Sydney: Until 7 Feb 2027. From his archive of more than 200,000 images, Close Up celebrates the historic moments and pivotal people he famously captured.

1 Shakespeare Place Sydney NSW 2000 State Library of NSW | 1 Mar, 2026 - 7 Feb, 2027

On the street where I live: Viva Gibb's portrait of North and West Melbourne

Melbourne: 5 March – 7 August 2026. Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, artist and social documentary photographer Viva Gibb (1945-2017) documented the suburbs of North and West Melbourne, where she lived.

110 Swanston St Melbourne 3000 City Gallery – Melbourne Town Hall | 5 Mar - 7 Aug, 2026

Coded Blooms | flowers have never been innocent

Melbourne: 7 March – 24 May 2026. Photos of flowers from the NGA collection by prominent photographers drawn such as Robert Mapplethorpe and four groundbreaking Australian photographers.

860 Ferntree Gully Road Wheelers Hill Victoria 3150 Australia Museum of Australian Photography | 7 Mar - 24 May, 2026

April

Ships and Figureheads

Sydney: 15 April – 9 May 2026. An exhibition of fine art photography celebrating the intersection of maritime history and the human form.

Level 1 – 41 Crown Street, Woolloomooloo NSW Ellipsis Gallery | 15 Apr - 9 May, 2026

May

PIX – The magazine that changed everything (1938-1972)

Sydney: Until 16 August 2026. PIX, Australia’s first pictorial news weekly, is brought to life in this exhibition, showcasing its archived images and stories for the very first time.

1 Shakespeare Place, Sydney State Library of NSW | 1 May - 16 Aug, 2026

Drew Hopper: West of Somewhere East

Coffs Harbour: 28 May – 29 June 2026. West Of Somewhere East is a photographic series tracing a cinematic journey through the interior of New South Wales, shaped by long drives, fleeting encounters, and the reflective rhythm of return.

27 Gordon Street, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 Yarrila Arts and Museum | 28 May - 28 Jun, 2026