Dance Floor Euphoria
with Laks
There are lots of elements to a great party that have us messaging the group chat at 2pm on a Friday asking for that weekends plan of action. For some it’s getting dressed up with as much time spent preparing for the club as will be spent in it. Others need the right kind of soundtrack that will keep their feet shuffling and fists pumping. Many will agree the real make or break for a night to remember depends entirely on the crowd. The best crowds feel like a homecoming, like a room of endless potential, a place to get lost and found again.
Laks’ photography captures crowds in their finest hour. Lost in moments of ecstasy, out their minds but still moving together in dance floor euphoria. Some shots are moving at 180 bpm while others catch couples kissing like the world around them has gone silent. There are two many faces to recognise but somehow everyone feels familiar, friendly, like you’ve been here before or you know you’ll come back. It’s an underground community that Laks has spent years growing with and documenting that reminds us what a great party looks like.
Interview by Esta Maffrett | 11.03.24
So my first question is how did you get into photography and what inspired you to start photographing?
It comes in two parts. Growing up I was always the person in my friendship group taking the photos. I grew up in foster care and when I turned 18 COVID was in full swing so I couldn’t go out but I did move into my own house so that was my first bit of freedom. Before clubs opened we were having house parties every weekend and I would drunkenly take photos of my friends on a film camera. My interest in photographing people and subcultures really stems from my time in foster care because I had to really understand people and the way they interact to survive. I could use photography to capture this so it really stemmed from that. I started going to raves and took my little film camera just to photograph the night, it was so much fun, showcasing it from my viewpoint.
Did you find that transition easy from house parties to raves?
Yeah even when we were younger going to festivals around age 16 it would be me taking photos and then sending them to the group chat afterwards. A lot of my friends are in the academic field rather than creative so I think that played a really big part in it as well. I was also doing videography but I found capturing a story through one still image so much more interesting. I began shooting film but I hated having to wait to see them and having a limit on how many I could take, also it’s expensive. Now I only shoot digital and I’ve found my way of editing that makes all my photos feel like mine.
By the time clubs re opened I was itching for it. I’ve always been a party goer, spending nights out and in fields. I wasn’t very popular in school, I was an emo, I didn’t get invited to parties until I got to sixth form and started dating someone who got invited to a lot of parties. It was such a new world to me and I wanted to do it all, I think that comes from growing up in foster care and it being quite strict. Now I was discovering myself and being in those spaces and with those people really sparked my interest.
Your photos show a lot of underground scenes but also vary from squat raves to guitar gigs. Do you feel like you capture a particular scene and how would you describe it?
So I think the thing I find most important in my photography is documenting the crowd rather than the DJs or the band. I think no matter what music situation you’re in, the people in the audience make up the experience so much more than anything else. At gigs I want to document it because I like the music but I go to raves because I like the community it builds and I want to document that. I don’t really listen to dance music that much, I’m more there because of the community. People are so friendly and I love that experience you can have with the audience, that resonates with me so much more than knowing every track that’s playing, I’ll never be a DJ.
I don’t really focus on documenting a specific scene. Most of my photos focus on rave culture because I’ve just had access to it for so long. My work is unified through documenting the audience and interactions within that.
It’s interesting that you’re not raving because of the music but that doesn’t make you an outsider because you have this connection to the scene and you’ve spent so long in it and with the community. Like you said you’ve always loved to party and because of the decline of house party culture and pubs closing earlier there’s really no other place to get your kicks than going raving.
Again it comes back to this boyfriend I had when I was 16. He was the one who was into rave music and learning to DJ, he loved his drum and bass and I loved rock, we went to these raves and I really resonated with feeling this connection with other people in an audience. The reason I get such good photos is because I don’t just go up to someone and take a photo, I have a little dance with them so when I photograph them it feels like we’re friends. People love compliments as well, not fake compliments but I’m not afraid to tell someone if I like what they’re doing, in the girls bathroom I can get chatting to people easily. I feel like every person I photograph I make a connection with them somehow. I do make friendships.
All of those things help build trust and that comes through in the photos. What do you think it is about these places that allow people so much freedom to express themselves?
I feel like the more underground parties, like squats or parties with whatsapp invitations, hold more freedom of expression compared to more established venues. I think drugs play a part in it but also people are less scared at squats. They’re not scared of getting kicked out for doing something stupid or drinking too much or dressing up a certain way. Especially in the queer scene I think people are more scared to fully be themselves in spaces that are public and curated. Security definitely has a big part to play in that as well I’d say. If you’re an anxious person and going through security you get looked at the wrong way or they say the wrong thing that can play on your mind for the rest of the night. People don’t care at underground parties, people are just friendlier, there are some that feel sketchy but once you find your community you know the right ones to go to.
When people have found themselves in your photos are there any comments that have stuck with you?
There’s one that sticks with me. A few of my friends went to UCL and I photographed some of their society nights. I took a photo of two people kissing and got a really angry DM from a girl who said it was her boyfriend kissing another girl. She was furious with me. I took the photo down, that’s the only time I’ve had someone be angry at me.
I don’t really listen to dance music that much, I’m more there because of the community. People are so friendly and I love that experience you can have with the audience, that resonates with me so much more than knowing every track that’s playing, I’ll never be a DJ.
There's so much joy in your photos it's hard to imagine anyone seeing themselves looking so happy and being annoyed about it. Unless it's their partner cheating on them, that makes sense. When you’re photographing, is there something you’re searching out or want to capture?
Euphoria on the dance floor. Interaction and interactivity I think is the most important thing. I also realise a lot of my photos always include two people in them which is really interesting, that’s something i’ve only noticed recently. I love seeing pure interaction, I don’t like people posing. That’s why I love taking photos of people kissing, it’s my favourite thing to photograph, I know it’s really personal but I love it.
I always shoot portraits because it feels so much more like the photo is bringing you into someones personal space. You get to feel close to that person.
Is there anywhere you really want to go or something you want to photograph next?
I want to delve out of rave culture and more into photojournalism. People and their interests really interest me. And to contradict myself a bit I’d like to document nightlife culture in other cities to compare it. I’m going to South Korea in two weeks and have plans to go to some techno and jungle raves out there. Music can be the same in clubs across the world but nights out are completely different, where we are and how people have been raised changes our experiences completely and I think that’s really interesting. I’d like to be documenting important and political issues.
If you could put one object into the Museum of Youth Culture, what would it be and why?
Any type of flash game. I was a big fan of Toontown but Club Penguin as well. Also Moshi Monster cards, we used to fight over them in school, I’d beg to get more of them and trace over all of the cards. I love the collectible element of it. And the graphics formed me into the designer I am today along with Toontown. I remember it closed down like two days before my birthday and I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in my life.
You can find Laks online at https://laksinspired.com and follow Laks here.
