Independent Art Fair: Tomasz Machciński and Tom Wilkins • In-person and Online

Wilkins lived in Boston in complete obscurity. His oeuvre consists of 900 enigmatic SX-70 Polaroid photographs that were discovered after his death. This series of television captures, produced between 1978 and 1982, consistently features women and concludes with the only self-portrait in the series, where Wilkins portrays himself as a woman. The work is unique and kaleidoscopic, absorbed by its sole subject, carrying passion to the point of methodical, applied, and studious documentation. Through this collection of female subjects elevated to the status of icons, Wilkins simultaneously eludes and reveals himself. Christian Berst writes: “Since Horst Ademeit, it has been observed how the advent of the Polaroid photograph freed the most scoptophiliacs (those who desire to look rather than actually engage in sexual acts). Fully self-operated in producing prints, and thereby offering the immediate delight of its photogenic "prey," the Polaroid has consequently established itself as a vector of instant pleasure. Wilkins's fervent quest for a feminine ideal allows him to create, through his snapshots, an extremely reassuring world steeped in the illusion of becoming a woman.”