Clare Marie Bailey

Hug My Soul - Contemporary, Polaroid, Photograph, Figurative

2019

Clare Marie Bailey is a UK based photographer and was born and raised on the Island of Anglesey in Wales. Clare became interested in world cinema, which would later become an enduring influence on her photographic work. Her passion for Polaroid and instant film photography began when she became mesmerized and fell deeply in love with its dynamic, and at times mercurial and almost random character; its ability to give an almost perfect imperfection. Clare’s work, centered on self-portraits, is heavily influenced by the cinema, magical iconography, dreams and the counterculture of the 1960s and B-movies. Clare uses film to work towards creating an alternative and parallel world where she can co-exist with the real world and is fascinated with the idea of doubles and doppelgänger and the concept of reinvention. Clare believes all art is a form of magic, and using memory, emotion and imagination to manipulate materials and create imagery is a form of alchemy. Her work has been exhibited in many group shows, and most recently was exhibited as part of Image Nations’ Instant Art Paris, the International Polaroid Exhibition in Galerie Joseph Turenne, Paris. Currently working on a new body of work, Clare has also been creating film shorts to accompany her still work. Clare is a group member of the 12:12 project for 2019 that brings together international Polaroid artists who shoot a different theme for each month throughout the year.