"They wanted the freedom to party; the state saw them as the enemy within. The untold story of the free party movement, Caslemorton and the Criminal Justice Act, and how its impact sparked a revolution around the world, from raves and festivals to politics and protest."
Unseen & Unbound: From UK Squats to Global Sound Systems.
The exhibition explores the free party culture that emerged across the UK and Europe in the 1990s, featuring a photo exhibition and a film screening, both of which are making their debut in Thailand.
The free party wave enraptured Britain's young generation following the explosion of rave, techno, and ecstasy in 1989, when crowds of up to 25,000 gathered in countryside locations for illegal all-night parties. Whilst the movement was born of music and hedonism, as well as civil disobedience and defiance of authority, as portrayed in the works of Petersen and Trinder, people attending protests contesting the political backlash against their way of living. Despite the movement's iconic significance, photographic documentation of the rave scene is sparse, as the community was wary of outsiders taking pictures for fear of legal repercussions, so cameras were routinely confiscated at parties.
This exhibition does not merely showcase a movement but acquaints us with a cast of personalities and narratives that expose the precarious existence embraced by their community to preserve a distinctive sense of freedom and expression.
"NO SYSTEM" A Photo Exhibition by Vinca Petersen
NO SYSTEM, first published by Steidl in 1999, brings together a collection of seminal diaristic photographs drawn in the 1990s, documenting the artist's experiences as part of the free party and the new age traveller community. The images juxtapose the sense of escapism and euphoria of this unique cultural moment with the oppressive political climate that outlawed the lifestyles of those responsible for Britain's rave scene.
Vinca Petersen (born 1973, Seoul) is a British multidisciplinary artist and social practitioner best known for her intimate documentation of European counterculture, specifically the free party and new age traveler movements of the 1990s. To this day, Petersen's work continues to emerge from her deep social and political engagement and often takes the form of large photographic "constellation" installations. Petersen is currently working on her fourth photographic book.
"FREE PARTY: A Folk History" A Film Screening by Aaron Trinder
FREE PARTY: A Folk History is a major new, independently made, feature documentary following the birth of the free party movement in the late 80s and early 90s and the impact it's had on our present times. The film follows the inception of the movement, a meeting between ravers and the new age travellers during Thatcher's last days in power, and the explosive years that followed, leading up the infamous Castlemorton free festival in 1992 - the largest ever illegal rave, which provoked the drastic change of the laws of trespass with the notorious introduction of the Criminal Justice Act in 1994.
Trinder Films is an award-winning London-based production company, led by Filmmaker Aaron Trinder. Aaron Trinder is a writer, director, and producer working in narrative, documentary, commercial,s and campaign films. His short film 'Mr Torquay's Holiday' won the Jury Special Mention Award at Film London's 'London Calling 2013.
Exhibition Information
"NO SYSTEM" Photo Exhibition by Vinca Petersen
Venue: SUPER RAF, Talad Noi
Opening Party and Artist Visit: 12 Feb 2026 - 13 Feb 2026
Exhibition: 14 Feb 2026 - 11 Mar 2026
"FREE PARTY: A Folk History" Film Screening
by Aaron Trinder
Venue: THE WAREHOUSE, Talad Noi
Screening 01: 12 Feb 2026, 8.00 pm
Screening 02: 13 Feb 2026, 8.00 pm
Experience a rare window into the 1990s UK free party movement. We invite you to the opening of UNDERGROUND, ILLEGAL, FREE, an exhibition featuring NO SYSTEM, rare photographic works, and the first Thai screening of the acclaimed documentary Free Party: A Folk History.