Dirty Dancing


book
For years Mattia Zoppellaro has been documenting the European free party/techno scene. As an avid underground music fan and busy traveller Zoppellaro was not only a participant at the events but also a close member of this free roaming family. This has gifted him a unique and intimate access into the lives of the free party collective and everyone and thing they have touched along the way.

For years Mattia Zoppellaro has been documenting the European free party/techno scene. As an avid underground music fan and busy traveller Zoppellaro was not only a participant at the events but also a close member of this free roaming family. This has gifted him a unique and intimate access into the lives of the free party collective and everyone and thing they have touched along the way.
Shot between the years of 1997 and 2005, he found himself firmly in the fold and dutifully followed the convoy of battered old vans and suped up sound systems to the outskirts of cities such as London, Milan, Barcelona, Turin, Graz and others. Mattia’s photographs respectfully record a unique and hidden subculture, one that existed outside of the stringent rules and regulations of the mainstream nightlife and entertainment world. In this modern age, ‘Dirty Dancing’ serves as a nostalgic reminder of a not too distant past, where the emphasis was on the freedom to dance when and where you wanted regardless of uniform expectations.

Internazionale, October 2021