Ramona Kandinger covers to uncover to discover

Ramona Kandinger has an impressive body of instax work. Here is just a minute selection from her large collection. She uses a variety of different techniques, from scratching the photo to double exposing, to get her results. See more at her website: ramonakandinger.com.

More of Ramona's work is on instagram at @ramona.kandinger

ALTER/ANALOG:  What got you interested in instax?

RK: coming from the analog world and spending the last years in digital photography, i felt the need to have something physical in my hands. instax is so real. so instant. it captures this one moment you press the shutter. you have your pic instantly and can work with it right away. what i like the most is that i never know what i get. it’s always a bit of a surprise with double exposures.

  ALTER/ANALOG:  You use a variety of techniques to manipulate these photos.  Can you describe them?

RK: during my years at the academy of fine arts i learned a lot of different techniques. i went to painting classes and sculpting workshops. this is how i learned a lot of different handcrafts throughout the years which i now use on my instax pics. i never know what it’s going to be when i start the process. but i have all handy on my table and just start to pick one tool and begin the talk with the material. during the conversation i know when to overpaint, put another layer, scratch something off.

ALTER/ANALOG:  Do you find you have an overall theme or meaning to your photos?

RK: there is a key theme in all of my works. i cover to uncover to discover. i put layer over layer only to cut it out, scratch it off, tear it apart. what i want to find out is what’s behind all these layers. how does one layer more change the story. is it possible to divide a double exposure?what happens if i start to sand the picture? chance plays a big role in all of my works since i don’t follow any plan or concept.

ALTER/ANALOG:  What inspires you?

RK: i work simultaneously with different media. sometimes i sit down to paint and get so inspired to create an instax object. i switch from one media to another.other times i am drawing lines to calm my nerves and suddenly it hits me to take a picture. it’s all connected. Everything can inspire me at the right time. There is no rule to inspiration.