Polaroid Manipulation

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

EXPOSURE

PHOTOGRAMS

ALTERNATIVE METHODS

BASIC MANIPULATIONS

ADVANCED MANIPULATIONS

Introduction
SX-70 Style Manipulation
Microwaving the Film
Burning the Film
Scratching the Film
Washing the Transparency
Negative Lifts
Bleaching the Transparency
Bleaching the Negative
Spot Toning and Painting
-- The Positive Side of Transparency
-- The Negative Side of Transparency
-- The Negative

AFTERCARE

ARTIST GALLERY

Health and Safety Warning
Glossary
Additional Resources
Bibliography

ADVANCED MANIPULATIONS
Negative Lifts

Although image transfers are not possible with integral films, emulsion lifts are - sort of. In an emulsion lift, the emulsion is lifted off of the paper and applied to another surface. With negative lifts, the film's negative (at the cyan layer) is lifted off of the polyester backing and is applied to another surface. Although they don't look exactly the same as emulsion lifts, they are similar and can be manipulated in similar ways.

What you will need:

Latex or polyurethane gloves
Surgical mask
A fiberboard
Spray bottle filled with filtered water
Utility blade
A selection of small, flat and blunt tools
Material to adhere the negative to

Before you begin, put the gloves and surgical mask on.

Spray the negative with a fine mist of filtered, room-temperature water. Make sure to spray the entire negative. Over the next two minutes, spray the negative every 15-30 seconds. The negative should swell because it will absorb the water somewhat like a sponge.
After two minutes, spray the negative again and begin to score the image around the edges with the utility blade. Make sure to score through the negative but be careful not to cut through the polyester backing; it's needed to help stabilize the film during this process.
Once you've scored the edges, begin lifting the negative off of the back starting at a corner and try to keep as much of the stretchy, black back at the cyan layer of the image, as this acts as a very strong adhesive and will hold the image to just about anything. Spray underneath the negative as you do this. Also, use the polyester backing as leverage to help you lift the negative but be careful not to pull as you do this otherwise you will stretch the negative out of shape.
Once the negative has been lifted, place it on the new surface and allow it 24-48 to dry.

There are different ways you can place the image onto its new backing. You can very gently tap it in spots and try to keep the image as close to its original shape as possible or you can completely reform it; you can place a piece of wax paper over it and roll it with a brayer, or you can place a piece of heavily textured cloth or paper over it and roll it with a brayer to give another texture, but this method will generally produce light textures.

Troubleshooting:

The edges clump as I score.
The negative is not wet enough. Repeat steps 1-2.

The edges rip at the edges as I lift.
The edges are not scored well enough. Repeat steps 1-3 again.

The image is stuck to the cyan layer.
Place the image on its new backing except for the area where the image is stuck to the adhesive. Using a pair tweezers, gently grip the image and, using the tool used to lift the image, pull the image away from the adhesive. Adhere the rest of the image to the new backing.