Specification
Screen print on black T-Shirt in 100% organic cotton
Description
This T-shirt accompanies acclaimed photographer Ewen Spencer's exhibition While You Were Sleeping at Laz Emporium Soho LDN during May-June 2022.
The image was taken at Sonic Mook Experiment, 333, Shoreditch, London in 1998.
While You Were Sleeping features Ewen’s seminal 1990s club photos from the book of the same name out earlier this year.
The images evoke a different London where aspiring kids from across the spectrum enjoyed (relatively) affordable, bohemian living. The range of clubs themselves – like Metalheadz, above – was even more colourful, diverse and imaginative than the punters on the dancefloor.
While set in a specific place and time, the pictures have an appeal for to dance culture advocates across the spectrum.
Ewen's 24 year-old son Kuba stumbled across the black and white reportage – taken while Kuba himself was a baby – while pouring through his dad's film archive during lockdown. Struck by their energy and authenticity he asked, "When did you take these?" Ewen replied, "While you were sleeping.”
The sartorially inclined might know Ewen from his front covers for leading fashion mags like Arena Homme+ and Pop. Plus maybe you've seen his Channel Four documentaries Brandy & Coke, Open Mic, plus Street, Sound and Style. He’s also worked extensively with musicians including The White Stripes.