Anita Corbin @ Exeter Phoenix

In 1981, photographer Anita Corbin captured pivotal “coming of age” moments in the life of 56 young women – all members of different subcultures. The result was an extraordinary collection of portraits against a backdrop of heightened social, cultural and political change. The Skins, Mods, Punks, Rockabillies, New Romantics, Rasta’s and young lesbians that Anita photographed represented a new movement of female empowerment.
Now, 36 years later, Anita is asking where those girls are? What’s happened to all those women who were so dedicated to their sub cultural tribes and what’s happened to their dreams and beliefs? With the help of an Arts Council Grant Anita has re-photographed some of the original girls using new digital technology to create a set of images that will sit alongside the originals in a touring exhibition. Using tape recordings of interviews from 1981 and recent interviews with the ‘girls’ 36 years on, the exhibition brings together two parts of a woman’s life and interweaves societal changes related to communication and women’s rights.