Dutch photographer Ferry van der Nat, formerly known as Mr. Polaroid, has done it all. He’s been a chef, makeup artist to a touring drag queen show, wig maker for Victor & Rolf, and is a celebrated fashion editor, stylist and photographer. The word polymath doesn’t begin to describe the energy he has for life. Like Andy Warhol before him, it’s his intimate and provocative Polaroids of male muses, turned into a book, Mr., published by MENDO, that define him as a true artist. Some of the most iconic of these Polaroids, in original form, will be exhibited at The Ravestijn Gallery in Amsterdam from February 17 to April 1, 2017.
Before there was Instagram there was Polaroid. Artists that defined their eras, from Warhol and Hockney to Maplethorpe, used the medium to express their creativity and to provoke. For Warhol, it was the perfect vehicle for his obsession with celebrity. Long before the Kardashian’s discovered hashtags, Warhol used his Polaroid Big Shot (the same camera beloved by Ferry) to snap the rich, famous and beautiful at their most raw. And even today, these candid images remain legendary. Fast forward decades and Polaroid’s aesthetic is more powerful than any app filter – it baths its subjects in an otherworldly glow.
Ferry van der Nat’s Polaroids however, go beyond the mere aesthetic. They straddle the line between erotica and humor, abstract and intimate. Whether it’s a sweet little ribbon tied around a flaccid cock or a close-up of pubic hair peeking out between some peachy cheeks, you feel the playful intimacy and you become part of the moment. According to Ferry van der Nat, “Polaroids go beyond reality. And beyond the digital world we live in. They create a world that’s better than real life.”
Ferry van der Nat, Originals
February 18 – April 1, 2017
The Ravestijn Gallery
Westerdoksdijk 603-A
1013 BX Amsterdam
Netherlands
