‘Raves and Riots’ exhibition captures the ’90’s ecstasy fuelled free party movement

The Raves and Riots collection is Vince Petersen’s formative diaristic photographs drawn from a momentous period in her life, between the years of 1990-2004. This was during a period of travelling as part of the free party movement. 

The collection depicts a sense of euphoria and escapism during these hedonistic parties while also portraying the juxtaposition of the riots resulting from the heightened political climate that outlawed the raves in the UK at the time.

Petersen’s story during this period began with her leaving home at the age of 17, moving to a squat in London, and immediately becoming immersed in the euphoria-filled rave scene which rocketed across Europe during the 1990s. This was when Petersen decided to start recording her experiences through photography to document the new subversive lifestyle she and her community were living.

This period was key in the heritage and shaping of dance music and rave culture. The free party movement was fuelled by the emergence of rave, techno, and ecstasy from 1989 onwards; it became commonplace for crowds of young people up to 25,000 gatherings in fields up and down the UK for illegal all-night parties. This was partly motivated by the disillusioned and disenfranchised youth of the UK wanting an escape from everyday life, which they found with music and hedonism. Although it soon morphed into civil disobedience and defiance against the establishment and authority, as shown in Petersen’s photographs.

In 1994 the Criminal Justice Bill was passed, creating an unsavoury environment for squatters, travellers and illegal party organisers. As a result, Petersen and her friends decided to up and move, adopt a nomadic lifestyle, take powerful sound systems with them across Europe, and set up parties as and where they could, primarily in countryside locations on the outskirts of urban areas. Petersen continued this lifestyle until the birth of her first son in 2005.

Although this era is considered iconic within dance music, the period was not particularly well documented and seems to be few and far between, making this body of work all the more impressive and important.

What makes the work so captivating is Petersen’s desire to document not just the raves but also the community and their way of living during this period: flyers, posters, clothes, the raves and how the travellers lived in between the parties.

Petersen’s work has been exhibited at Tate Modern, Turner Contemporary and the Victoria and Albert Museum, Dundee, and her work is also held in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection. 

This current Raves and Riots exhibitions is open to the public now at the Edel Assanti; the address is 46 Mortimer St, London, W1W 7RL ­– open Monday to Friday, until 30th July 2021.

For more information, click here.