Born in Germany in 1968, Stefanie Schneider, who received her master's degree in photography from the Folkwang University in Essen, lives between Berlin and Los Angeles. Her development began in the plains and deserts of Southern California, where she stages her subjects. The post-production then takes place in Berlin, where Schneider develops and enlarges her work.
The most striking feature of Schneider's images is the colour, which is reminiscent of expired Polaroid film. Her commitment to the use of the Polaroid earned her great respect from her colleagues and critics, as Schneider arrived on the scene with her work at a time when the Polaroid, a symbol of American photography, was already on its way out of fashion.
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This theme of preservation and simultaneous wear and tear is at the core of Schneider's oeuvre. In an interview with Artnet in October 2014, the artist explained how her own experiences of pain and loss inspire her work: "My work resembles my life: Love, lost and unrequited, leaves its mark in our lives as a senseless pain that has no place in the present."
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Schneider's subjects are often found in apocalyptic settings, such as trailer parks, oil fields, run-down motels, or deserted beaches. "It is the tangible experience of 'absence' that has inspired my work," said Schneider.
This sense of absence is what is most noticeable in Schneider's work. The fact that she even uses expired film adds a sense of unknown, as Schneider is unsure whether she was able to capture her subject on the film until she develops it in her darkroom. Long before the ever-popular Instagram filters, Stefanie Schneider managed to create this different world that is now proliferated on the app.
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The film and music scene has also already become aware of Stefanie Schneider's work. Schneider created album covers for Cyndi Lauper and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and worked on the film Stay with Ryan Gosling. Her works occasionally come up to auction, with prices ranging between a few hundred dollars to £3,000.
