I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Wednesday February 5th — —

The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Wednesday February 5th — —

“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Wednesday February 5th — —

78-87 London Youth

On the 31st of March a tremendous collection of photographs by famous English photographer Derek Ridgers will be published by Damiani. Taken in the streets, clubs, basements and bars of London between 1978 and 1987, the photographs in the book named 78–87 London Youth show a broad scala of youth cultures caught through Ridgers’ lens. The photographer has documented the perennial youth ritual of dressing up and going out since he first picked up a camera in 1971, and has been drawn to virtually every subculture London has produced. His photographs capture punk’s evolution into goth, the skinhead revival and the New Romantic scene, and the eventual emergence of Acid House and the new psychedelia. Ridgers’ work is both from a anthropological viewpoint, as style-wise of the highest standard. Next to the excellent work of the photographer a foreword by John Maybury is featured in the book, who himself was a mainstay of the times the book documents.

Derek Ridgers’ career started in the early seventies and he has been photographing ever since. The englishman made a name for himself photographing subjects from the music, film and club/street culture; from James Brown to The Spice Girls, from Clint Eastwood to Johnny Depp, Tony Blair to Julian Schnabel and Vivienne Westwood. Next to shooting public figures, Ridgers is also praised worldwide for his eye on social scenes such as skinhead, fetish, club, punk and the New Romantics.

From early in his career Ridgers’ work has been exhibited internationally as far ranging as London, Paris, Moscow, Adelaide and Los Angeles, and in venues such as the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Museum of Modern Art, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Museum of London, Britart Gallery, Selfridges and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Although some parts of the photographs of 78-87 London Youth have been published in smaller publication, the new book can be seen as his most complete overview of London’s youth cultures ’till date.

We love the immaculate combination of anthropology and style in Ridgers’ work and look forward to this historic overview of youngsters in London.

Pre-order the book here.

(Via Roundel London)