'Cherry Tree Blossoms' (Till Death do us Part), 2006,
50x50cm each, installed 50x110cm,
Edition 1/10, digital C-Prints, based on the 2 Polaroids,
Certificate and Signature label,
artist Inventory No. 9473.21,
not mounted
On offer is a piece from Till Death Do Us Part, an episode of the 29 Palms, CA project—a film crafted from Polaroid stills interwoven with Super 8 film sequences.
Till Death Do Us Part tells the story of two young lovers, lonely souls escaping the cruelty of reality by disappearing into each other. Imagine crossing paths with a stranger with whom words are unnecessary, someone who feels familiar, as if you have known them forever. This is the experience of Cristal and Margarita, whose journey begins when Cristal picks up Margarita, a hitchhiker on a desolate desert road.
Margarita is running—from a cruel older brother, from a broken family, searching on the edges of the shadows for a home. Cristal, too, has always been alone, dangerously close to vanishing—until she finds Margarita. For the first time, she feels seen. She feels real. She feels alive.
Together, they create a roadside dream, believing—without question—that it will last forever. With the naive joy of beginners, they dive in, unaware of the dangers ahead. When two lost souls merge completely, do they lose themselves further or finally become whole? Can a girl with no home, no anchor, truly thrive in the embrace of another drifter? Once a heart awakens from isolation, captivated by love’s reflection, can the dreamer ever fall asleep again? Or is she doomed to wander, searching for that feeling forever?
An artistic triumph for Stefanie Schneider, this piece delves deeper into her exploration of the colors of the human psyche—longing, separation, love, and the blurred lines of gender and identity. The sun-drenched Californian desert and the vintage hues of Polaroid film create an unforgettable atmosphere, set against the backdrop of an abandoned trailer park.
Austen Tate lends Margarita her voice in poetry, while Daisy McCrackin gives Cristal her sound in music, bringing this haunting, ephemeral world to life.
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Stefanie Schneider received her MFA in Communication Design at the Folkwang Schule Essen, Germany. Her work has been shown at the Museum for Photography, Braunschweig, Museum für Kommunikation, Berlin, the Institut für Neue Medien, Frankfurt, the Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden, Kunstverein Bielefeld, Museum für Moderne Kunst Passau, Les Rencontres d'Arles, Foto -Triennale Esslingen, Bombay Beach Biennale 2018
“It was Stefanie Schneider, who inspired me to start the company THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT after seeing her work, which seems to achieve the possible from the impossible, creating the finest of art out of the most basic of mediums and materials. Indeed, after that one day, I was so impressed with her photography that I realized Polaroid film could not be allowed to disappear. Being at the precise moment in time where the world was about to lose Polaroid, I seized the moment and have put all my efforts and passion into saving Polaroid film. For that, I thank Stefanie Schneider almost exclusively, who played a bigger role than anyone in saving this American symbol of photography.”
–Florian Kaps, March 8th 2010 (“Doc” Dr. Florian Kaps, founder of “The Impossible Project”)
