New photo book documents East London’s queer nightlife from 2005 to 2015 (EXCLUSIVE)
Ralf Obergfell’s limited-edition collection features photographs and first-hand accounts from a decade of underground parties
By Callum Wells
A new photography book documenting East London’s queer nightlife between 2005 and 2015 launches today (16 October).
The East London Years: A Homage to Noughties Glamour and Trash, by artist and photographer Ralf Obergfell, captures a decade of queer culture, underground parties and artistic communities in the capital.
Through photographs taken by Obergfell, co-creator of the legendary GutterSlut party, the limited-edition photobook documents a significant period in East London’s cultural history.
“I wanted to create a homage to the East London of the Noughties and its protagonists” – Ralf Obergfell
Among the venues and events featured are Trailer Trash, Gay Bingo and the first Horse Meat Disco at NYC Downlow at Glastonbury Festival. The collection also documents a party at the studio of artist Wolfgang Tillmans at Between Bridges.
Obergfell’s work extends beyond the dancefloor, capturing the community that gathered around his studio in Dalston, where he hosted artistic experiments and ran the supper club The Pale Blue Door.
“I wanted to create a homage to the East London of the Noughties and its protagonists who helped shape a cultural movement that laid the foundations for future generations,” Obergfell said.
The book includes more than 50 first-hand accounts and memories from people photographed
Contributors include alt-drag pioneer Jonny Woo, The Pale Blue Door creator and set designer Tony Hornecker, cultural critic Ben Walters, and artists Gilbert & George.
Alongside these contributions, the book includes more than 50 first-hand accounts and memories from people photographed by Obergfell during the period.
Its pages document a subculture shaped by art, friendship, creativity and community, before gentrification and social media transformed the landscape.
The book highlights the importance of preserving queer cultural history at a time when LGBTQIA+ rights face continued threats.
The release is limited to 350 copies, each hand-signed and numbered by Obergfell
Described as a portrait of a lost scene, The East London Years offers a record of the people and places that helped shape East London’s queer identity during the 2000s and early 2010s.
The release is limited to 350 copies, each hand-signed and numbered by Obergfell.
The East London Years: A Homage to Noughties Glamour and Trash is available exclusively from Obergfell’s online shop.