Rafa Contreras’ vintage Polaroids of Andorra’s Romanesque churches

Rafa Contreras has photographed ten Romanesque churches with a vintage Polaroid and deliberately breaks the usual rules: he shakes the prints and leaves them in the sun so they acquire a patina. The work, titled Andorra romànica en 40 mirades, is on display at Espai Columba until 17 January.

Each monument is represented by four Polaroids, taken with an original British-made model from the 1980s rather than a modern replica. Because Polaroid produces a single positive without a negative, each print is unique. Contreras says he purposely manipulates the process to see what happens, and that the sun exposure and handling give the images a sepia, slightly fogged warmth he feels cannot be replicated with digital editing.

He discovered Polaroid photography in a workshop led by Naiara Escabias and first used it for a nude shown at last year’s Circul'art. Coming from a background as a sculptor known for abstract work — he previously installed a totem in Parc Central — Contreras has shifted toward figuration; he stresses that composition is a matter of angle and distance.

The visible imperfections are part of the approach: occasional vertical bands and other anomalies result from the camera’s rudimentary mechanics, and Contreras embraces these “errors” as intrinsic to the medium. He compares the Polaroid process to firing clay in a kiln — unpredictable and formative — and believes the images will continue to gain character as they age.

The series includes views of well‑known local Romanesque sites such as Sant Joan de Caselles, Sant Miquel de Prats, Sant Serni de Nagol and Sant Climent d’Anyós, alongside works made in places like Sant Romà de les Bons, Sant Esteve d’Andorra la Vella and Santa Coloma. The exhibition presents a deliberate blend of photographic technique and material decay to evoke the historical presence of these monuments.