Vinca Petersen » Raves and Riots

Raves and Riots brings together a collection of seminal diaristic photographs drawn from a period spanning 1990–2004, documenting the artist’s experiences as part of the free party and traveller community. The images juxtapose the sense of escapism and euphoria of this unique cultural moment with the oppressive political climate that outlawed the lifestyles of those responsible for Britain’s rave scene.

The free party wave enraptured Britain’s young generation following the explosion of rave, techno and ecstasy in 1989. Whilst the movement was born of music and hedonism, it quickly became a vehicle for civil disobedience and defiance of authority, as portrayed in images of Petersen and her friends attending protests contesting the political backlash against their way of living.

The 1994 Criminal Justice Bill created a hostile environment for the squatters, travellers and rave organisers that made up the artist’s immediate social circle. In response, Petersen and those closest to her adopted a nomadic lifestyle, transporting powerful sound systems across Europe in truck convoys, setting up parties in countryside locations on the outskirts of urban areas.

Despite the movement’s iconic significance, photographic documentation of the rave scene is sparse, as the community was wary of outsiders taking pictures for fear of legal repercussions, so cameras were routinely confiscated at parties. Working with inconspicuous cameras, Petersen’s insider’s perspective is at times contemplative and unflinching, and elsewhere frenetic. Whether through empathetic personal proximity to her subjects or atmospheric immersion in each scene, Petersen’s implied presence and participation in the world she depicts is an underlying constant.