Skip to main content

Late Night Polaroids: Photographs by Emily Earl

August 14, 2020 to April 4, 2021 Jepson Center
Facebook (external link) Twitter (external link) Email (external link)

Late Night Polaroids: Photographs by Emily Earl is a solo #art912 exhibition with Savannah-based artist Emily Earl (American, B. 1985) featuring her series Late Night Polaroids. Over the past eight years, Earl has roamed the streets of Savannah with her Polaroid ProPack Camera to document the nightlife of the city. Culminating in the exhibition, the series concludes this year as she finishes the last pack of the discontinued Fujifilm 3000b black-and-white instant film. Influenced by other street photographers such as Weegee, Brassai, Jill Freedman, and Walker Evans, Earl’s black-and-white portraits are a collection of late-night flashes that capture the energy of downtown Savannah after dark. As patrons leave the bars with a drink in their hands, courtesy of the city’s open container law, the streets and sidewalks are often where people really come together to make a connection and be discovered by Earl’s camera. She finds moments of darting eye contact and unabashed body language to tell the stories of the characters and dramas that play out in the late hours of a steamy Savannah night.

About the Artist:

Emily Earl is a photographer based in her hometown of Savannah, where she has spent the last 20 years documenting the faces that make up the quirky, sultry town. She received a BFA in Photography in 2007 from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Work from Late Night Polaroids is included in the permanent collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and has been featured by Polaroid and The New Yorker. Earl is a founding member and serves as Director of Public Relations & Special Events at Sulfur Studios, a community art space in Savannah. Founded in 2014 and located in the Starland District, Sulfur Studios provides artists with affordable studio, gallery, and performance space as well as an artist residency program. Earl is also the owner and operator of Prismatic Prints, a fine art print shop. Late Night Polaroids is part of Telfair Museums’ #art912 initiative, a dedicated platform to showcase the work of Savannah artists.

This exhibition is organized by Telfair Museums and curated by Erin Dunn, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

  • View image 1 in lightbox:

    Emily Earl (American, B. 1985); Empty Cocktails, 2016, printed 2019; archival pigment print; courtesy of the artist

  • View image 2 in lightbox:

    Emily Earl (American, B. 1985); El Rocko Lounge, 2016, printed 2017; archival pigment print; courtesy of the artist

  • View image 3 in lightbox:

    Emily Earl (American, B. 1985); Couple at the Persepolis Lounge, 2016, printed 2019; archival pigment print; courtesy of the artist

  • View image 4 in lightbox:

    Emily Earl (American, B. 1985); Alycia, 2013, printed 2017; archival pigment print; courtesy of the artist

Published as a companion to this exhibition, Emily Earl’s first monograph, ‘Late Night Polaroids,’ is now available for purchase from independent publisher, aint bad. The foreward of the book was written by Erin Dunn, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Purchase Book

About #art912:

#art912 is an initiative dedicated to raising the visibility and promoting the vitality of artists living and working in Savannah through exhibition opportunities, public programs, and outreach.

Telfair Museums