The Portuguese Polaroids
SX-70 Polaroid photos of Portuguese sailors in
St. John's Newfoundland in 1980
by Kent Barrett and Manfred Buchheit
In 1980 the Resource Centre for the Arts / LSPU Hall presented a play on the Portuguese fishery on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland entitled Terras de Bacalhau.
Click To View The Images Or Slide Show
We (Kent Barrett and Manfred Buchheit) as artists associated with the Hall, decided to create an impromptu exhibition of portraits of the fishermen on board several boats in port by using the SX-70 camera. Our thought was that we could create an exhibition relevant to the theatre production immediately and have it up during the run of the play.
To effect this, we went down to the harbour, where the ships were anchored, and asked sailors if we could photograph them. We offered each an SX-70 print if they agreed, and many took us up on the offer. They were very cooperative, even permitting us on board, and enjoyed being photographed. We hope some of them still have the original prints we gave them. A second photo was kept for our project, and these were the ones exhibited in 1980 at the Hall...
Between 1980 and now, these original prints had been stored away, and basically forgotten about until earlier this year when Manfred rediscovered them while sorting through his voluminous collection.
We hope you enjoy this little slice of the history of our home, St. John's Newfoundland.
Click to View The Images Or Slide Show
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