A visual history of America’s travelling rave scene

New age nostalgia — From 1990 to 1995, Tree Carr roamed the country documenting her psychedelic adventures on a disposable camera.

In the early years of the 1990s, an underground rave scene brought together disparate youth tribes across North America. Flying under the radar of mainstream media for several years, kids from all kinds of backgrounds, cultures and classes united in warehouses and aircraft hangers to share something secret, subversive and – now we’re in the days of Facebook events and online photo-sharing – unlikely to be seen again.

Before she would go on to take paths a musician, filmmaker, dreaming guide, death doula and tarot reader, Tree Carr spent her late teens and early 20s dancing this same acid-fuelled path. From 1990 to 1995, she travelled across North America going to raves soundtracked by Detroit techno and Chicago house, and documenting her adventures on a disposable camera.

“I sat laughing and reminiscing over the wildly colourful fashions, bugged-out expressions and enlarged pupils of the ravers,” she says. “You look back at it through a totally different lens. I had captured a glimpse of the underground ’90s club scene; a unique fashion tribe and youth culture that really hasn’t been too well documented.” Though she has since lost touch with her friends in the photos, not least because many people went by club kid pseudonyms, Carr’s images create a collective portrait of a little-explored moment in American youth culture.

She adds that watching the union of disparate tribes at these raves – the queer community, Italian-Americans, hippies, privileged middle-class kids – was particularly heartening. “Literally a few years before, if I was in high school some of those kids would have been pushing me into my locker and calling me a lesbian,” she says. “And if you lost your friend at a rave, there were no mobile phone or pages so you just had to make new friends. It made everyone really open and you just had to go with the flow.”

While most of the shots remain untouched, Carr has edited some of them to recreate the feelings she got when the film was first processed. “We’d look at [the images] and go ‘that’s not how it felt,’” she says. “It looked like we were in outer space! So I decided to cut out the club kids, ravers and friends and stuff and collage them and mount them on space backgrounds. I got all these science magazines and stuck them on these space backgrounds because that is how it felt and that is how it looked to us – it looked really far out–cosmic.”

Tree Carr is publishing a limited-edition first run of 100 copies of This Girl is Super through IndieGoGo.

Follow Laura Havlin on Twitter.

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter


Ad

Latest on Huck

Group of people dancing at a live music performance, with a large "Spaces Beats" sign in the background.
Music

Amid tensions in Eastern Europe, young Latvians are reviving their country’s folk rhythms

Spaces Between the Beats — The Baltic nation’s ancient melodies have long been a symbol of resistance, but as Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on, new generations of singers and dancers are taking them to the mainstream.

Written by: Jack Styler

A person's face surrounded by colourful flowers. The flowers include orange, red, and yellow dahlias, as well as smaller yellow blooms. The person's expression is serious.
Music

Uwade: “I was determined to transcend popular opinion”

What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s Nigerian-born, South Carolina-raised indie-soul singer Uwade.

Written by: Uwade

Taxidermy alligator with a small monkey sitting on its head, displayed on a wooden shelf with other items.
Culture

Inside the obscured, closeted habitats of Britain’s exotic pets

“I have a few animals...” — For his new series, photographer Jonty Clark went behind closed doors to meet rare animal owners, finding ethical grey areas and close bonds.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Muscular man with arms crossed in a dark setting, 'Hard Feelings' text overlay.
Sport

Frazer Clarke: “I had a hole in my leg, I’m very lucky to be alive”

Hard Feelings — For our interview column on masculinity and fatherhood, the Olympic boxing medallist speaks to Robert Kazandjian about hard graft, the fear and triumph of his first fight, and returning to the ring after being stabbed on a night out.

Written by: Robert Kazandjian

Close-up view of a woman in a vintage pose, with flowing hair and an outstretched hand, set against a hazy, scenic background.
© Peter Palladino, courtesy of the Peter Palladino Archive.
Culture

Remembering Holly Woodlawn, Andy Warhol muse and trans trailblazer

Love You Madly — A new book explores the actress’s rollercoaster life and story, who helped inspire Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Crushed Burger King cup, playing card, caution tape on cracked pavement.
Culture

This photographer picked up 1,000 weed baggies in New York and documented them

0.125OZ — Since originally stumbling across a discarded bag in Brooklyn, Vincent ”Streetadelic” Pflieger has amassed a huge archive of marijuana packaging, while inadvertently capturing a moment as cannabis went from an illicit, underground drug to big business.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.