POLYMORPHOUS

Polly Borland Transforms Herself For A Documentary

By Laura Pulgarin

Polly Borland‘s work is seen as either extraordinary or shocking. Having photographed everyone from The Queen to Gwendoline Christie, Borland is known for her portraiture and what people refer to as “offbeat reportage.” In the trailer for an upcoming documentary or her work and on her, Borland says that her “work is about the difficulty of existence” as she talks about being at the “beginning.”

The trailer starts off with someone saying that every time they see her she looks different, as the photographer has always been interested in people transforming themselves and people who take extreme routes. Borland says that she has “always had a love of the kitsch,” which is something that she believes really inspires her work.

Nick Cave, who has been a long collaborator of Borland, makes an appearance in the video, saying that he finds something “very cute” about the works of Borland, “that manages to be deeply disturbing.” The trailer only spans 90 seconds, but in it we see Borland transform her look several times. As she talks about reinventing herself when moving to another location, she says that where she is right now is, a “visual articulation of my desires, of my imaginings, my real gut feeling of what it means to be alive.”

Directed by Alex Chomicz, the documentary seems to really go into the brain of the artist, whose work captivates and amuses viewers while at the same time making them rethink society. From what is seen in the trailer, the focus is not solely on her work, but rather how her mentality affects her photographs and also how Polly Borland seems to be as much of a character as those she photographs.