Like most people his age, photographer Teddy Fitzhugh has been in clubs since he was at least 21-years-old. But while most of us were slowly comatosing on scuffed leather sofas or gurning in the smoking area, the native Englishman who’s now based in New York was surveying the club scene through his camera lens. Over the past seven years he’s been documenting the, as he calls it, “ephemeral energy and physicality of the club environment” – a celebration of style and individuality amongst London club culture.
Shot across a series of diverse club nights in London, Fitzhugh says, “Clubs are unique environments; it's a concentrated, hyperreal setting full of character, style and mini narratives that constantly evolve and change, which kept me coming back. And of course the music was also a big factor – it's present in every image.”
Now 28, the photographer’s ability to see past the strobe lights, pumping bass and sweaty masses has been manifested in his photo book Club Archive. “After a while, shooting in clubs becomes quite an instinctive process. You could see an outfit, or an interaction, or someone dancing that captures your eye, but often you can read an energy of a room and know there is a picture lurking somewhere,” he explains. “Often the best images come from the outskirts of the images, things that are lit up with a flash that you wouldn't ordinarily notice in a dark basement.”
So, given the pendulum of London nightlife in a country where decades of club culture have been ingrained and immortalised within the fabric of UK life, how does he feel we compare to previous generations? “I can only really comment on the past ten years or so, but I've always been interested in archive photography of past subcultures, and think this project was influenced by that lineage,” he muses. “The community, style and expression that we may associate with the past days of clubbing, I feel is still present. I hope in 20 years we'll look back at this period in that same light.”
Club Archive – published by HeavyTIME – is available now. See more of Fitzhugh’s work here or follow him on Instagram
