The Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney at c/o Berlin

Even though I’m a regular at c/o Berlin, I will never forget The Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney. It’s not only that I love polaroids, nor that c/o Berlin hosted once again an excellent exhibition. Mainly it’s because this was the first exhibition I attended after the Coronavirus lockdown. I wrote extensively about how hard it was for me to cope with the lockdown (you can read my Corona-chronicles here).

One of the reasons that I’m still living in Berlin is the city’s cultural life; this life, though, disappeared during the lockdown. No museums, no exhibitions, nothing at all. For more than two months, every talk in Berlin was about the virus, the toilet paper, and the supermarket. That’s hardly a worth-living life.

As you can imagine, returning to c/o Berlin for an exhibition also marked a slight return to everyday life. The Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney sounded like a perfect comeback to me. I love polaroids, and the challenges of instant photography always fascinate me. For the past year, and before I even heard about Linda McCartney’s polaroids, I’ve been running a side-project, also called Polaroid Diaries (you can see it here). Therefore, after finding out that c/o Berlin will host a polaroid exhibition, I knew it should be the first to visit after the lockdown.

I won’t lie: it felt truly bizarre going to a museum with a mask in my pocket. But I guess we’ll have to deal with it for a while. So, I cycled all the way to the museum, I wore my mask, and I entered. What a dystopia. The lively museum that I had known for years was now deserted. A man in the front door greeted me, standing behind something like a plastic folding screen. The floor was full of marks: stand here, wait there. I saw the cash desk covered in Plexiglas. A lady bought a ticket in front of me, she stepped back, turned around, found the optimal route away from me, and continued to the exhibition. Huh?

It seems that humanity has been through a collective accident. Moreover, it was an accident that traumatized each one of us severely. We even forgot how to walk, and we had to invent a new behavior. And yet, being at c/o Berlin once again and getting ready to see The Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney made me optimistic. It marked the end of a horrible era that everything was about our instinct of survival. I returned to cultural life in Berlin, a city that felt like a teenager until February, but now, in May 2020, feels like a centenarian.

And so, with such a mixture of feelings, I saw in front of me a polaroid turned into a poster: it was Paul McCartney waving his hand in front of a red car. He appeared playful, young, and good-looking, exactly like legends and cities should be.

The Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney: a short introduction

The exhibition at c/o Berlin presents more than 250 polaroids by Linda McCartney. Most of them date back to the 1970s, and Linda McCartney photographed a variety of subjects. Being the wife of Paul McCartney meant that she had access to the daily life of The Beatles. But Linda McCartney doesn’t present just that in her polaroids. She actually produced some intimate portraits of her family, and some of her photos are so strong that the viewer forgets that some of the most iconic people of the 20th century stood in front of her camera. Sometimes you’ll see family portraits, while in other photos, she experiments with light -or even the absence of it.

Linda McCartney wasn’t a fair-weather photographer. She tried to shoot polaroids on sunny days, on cloudy days, at night. The subject mattered to her in her polaroids, and that’s how she approached the medium. Even in the still-life images she produced, there’s empathy and a warm approach. Of course, an extremely talented photographer like her could never underestimate the importance of composition. Her compositions are exceptional. Moreover, what impressed me the most was how she used the flash. I find the correct usage of flash one of the most challenging aspects of instant photography.

So, what do we actually see in the Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney at c/o Berlin? I’d say we mainly see how McCartney documented her family and her daily life. But what makes these polaroids unique is the fact that she approached her family as an ordinary one. There’s nothing to brag about and nothing that highlights something more than the faces. It doesn’t matter if they are famous. What matters here is that Linda McCartney created a vast photographic album with snapshots from her daily life. And that’s why her Polaroid Diaries gained appreciation and recognition automatically.

The Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney at c/o Berlin: Photos

In 2019 I visited Glasgow for a week. After searching for some exhibitions in Glasgow, I came for the first time across The Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney. The exhibition in Glasgow took place at the Kelvingrove Museum. That’s where I saw for the first time her polaroids. Now, the current exhibition at c/o Berlin feels more thorough. There are more polaroids, and there’s also more background information about her life and work. So, in this section, you can see some photos from the Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney at c/o Berlin.

*All photos with the Ricoh GR ii.

So, in the first set of images, you can see some of the polaroids in their frames. Please click to enlarge.

For this set, I thought of moving a bit closer. Hence, they look like close-ups. You can also click to enlarge.

Tickets for the Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney at c/o Berlin

So, the regular ticket costs 10 euros, and the reduced one costs 6. You can also buy tickets online. The exhibition runs until the 5th of September 2020.

Opening times of c/o Berlin

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the c/o Berlin is currently open only from Thursday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Please check the website of c/o Berlin for up-to-date information.

Who was Linda McCartney

Linda Louise McCartney (September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, and entrepreneur. She was the first wife of Paul McCartney of The Beatles. Apart from her Polaroid Diaries, she photographed several celebrities and contemporary musicians. In 1968 she became the first female photographer to shoot the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

Two essential books with photos by Linda McCartney

I’m adding here two books with photos by Linda McCartney. The first one is an iconic publication, including the photos that McCartney took in the 60s. The second one is the Taschen edition of her polaroids.

• Linda McCartney’s Sixties: Portrait of an Era (Bulfinch editions). See the book about the sixties here.
• The Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney (Taschen editions). See the book with her polaroids here.

Final thoughts & a call for support

It is indeed a very tough time for museums and artists. I visited The Polaroid Diaries exhibition the second day the c/o Berlin opened again. I always remember c/o Berlin as a vibrant place, full of people. It was heartbreaking to see it empty. Even the museum’s cafe, where usually you can’t find a table, was empty.

As you can see from my photos, there were just 4-5 people in the exhibition hall. Even under these circumstances, the c/o Berlin can host lots of people simultaneously. I know it doesn’t sound compelling to wear a mask, and many people are still scared, but that’s how it is right now. However, I must point out that the c/o Berlin took all the precautions, and I didn’t feel that there was any reason to feel afraid.

I firmly believe that the well-being of museums and exhibitions halls is in danger. Without the audience, they will never make it through the current crisis. The same goes, of course, for every museum, in every city. Even if we lose just one museum from our cities, it’s a cost that will impact cultural life. In such times, we can’t afford that.

So I can only encourage you to grab a mask and visit the museums in your city. After the lockdown, I haven’t been to any other museum or exhibition hall, so I can’t give you more info. But for the c/o Berlin, I can assure you that you won’t feel uncomfortable and that you’ll enjoy the polaroid exhibition.

Polaroids narrate how innocent photography can be. We should, somehow, draw some innocence from them and return to normal life.

More art: “Faith” at Draiflessen Collection, “Emil Nolde” at Hamburger Bahnhof

Bonus: The ultimate travel guide to Berlin

My polaroids from Berlin: See them here and also here.

Read all my posts about Berlin here

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Last Updated on November 15, 2021 by George Pavlopoulos