Mod Girls, 2018
Being a Mod is all about individuality and self-expression. It is about striving to be different and yet a desire to be accepted. Although this is still similar today, individuals have modernised their style of Mod through the collective memories of others, including original stories or materiality of the past.
Over the past 50 years, the Mod culture has been adapting and evolving with each generation. Previously a male dominant subculture, the changes are demonstrated with the increasing visibility of women in subcultures and a greater female aspect in today's society. The absence of females from the class subcultural ethnographic studies has driver this two-year long project. This has expanded my own fascination of the Mod culture and allowed further investigation of the scene from a feminine perspective. The identity of women in this familiar scene has been a way of reconnecting with the subculture and discovering its new growth.
The portraits document the subject's confidence of belonging, whilst maintaining their personal identity through their chosen locations and particular style. The time and place of these images can appear anachronistic with the attempt to hold onto a period of time that no long exists. Mod Girls explore strong women who convey originality, youth and vibrant style, but most importantly it reveals their independent persona with a sense of belonging to a youth subculture group.