Raves & Riots 1990-2004

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Vinca Petersen interviewed by Sheryl Garratt

Unlike many of the stories here, this isn’t based on any one particular journey. They’re from all over Europe: the Czech Republic, Italy, England. It’s more about capturing a mood, a moment.

To me, the same thing sometimes happens on a demonstration as in an illegal rave. They’re both slightly edgy gatherings. Especially if a demonstration turns into a riot, you get the same sense that you’re free, suddenly, from everything. It becomes lawless, you get a sense of the normal world being suspended, and you experience these brief, totally free moments. It’s really important, I think. It’s always about this idea of an in-between place. And in that place, for me what’s always been really important is humour.

My way of dealing with the world is to make fun, to play. So I would always dress up to go to demos, I’d pinch policeman’s bums, and have fun in those situations. People don’t have that much fun any more. Young people are so grown-up in the way they behave now, and young women especially don’t seem to have many choices: you’re either sexy and doll-like, or you’re hardcore. So I’m trying to capture a sense of joy in these pictures. It’s about making life fun despite its hardships. Its about subversive joy.