Zabriskie Point I (Stranger than Paradise) - 2003 

Edition of 10 plus 2 Artist Proofs. 
20x20cm.  
Archival C-Print, based on a Polaroids. 
Signature label and Certification. 
Artist Inventory 625. 
Not mounted. 

Photographer Stefanie Schneider splits her time between Southern California, where she shoots her photographs, and Berlin, where she develops and enlarges her prints. Her interests in photography are in the physical nature of film, especially the process of its deterioration and the framing mechanism of images arranged on a reel. Using expired Polaroid instant film, she photographs individuals in trailer parks and different plane settings around Twentynine Palms. The combined marks of degraded chemicals and an apocalypse-like setting give Schneider’s photographs an evocative and unmistakable sense of style. Schneider also works on feature films, and has designed album covers for popular musicians, including Cyndi Lauper and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Her work has been exhibited throughout Europe, including at the Braunschweig Museum für Photographie and at Les Rencontres d’Arles in France.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
It happened by chance. Right after my studies in film and photography, my initial plan was to move to Los Angeles to work in film editing. Coincidences lead me to a shop selling a box of expired Polaroid films, and without even having a camera, I bought them all. The next day I bought a camera, and went down to the beach with my sister to take some photographs. One thing led to the next, my work started to be exhibited, recognized, and sold. It all happened so fast and now, in hindsight, I think it was inevitable.