Nottingham’s Bonington Gallery will showcase the work of Alan Lodge, aka Tash, capturing landmark moments in British counterculture.
A new photography exhibition documenting UK free party and rave culture is set to open in Nottingham this autumn.
Bonington Gallery will present the work of prominent local photographer Alan Lodge, aka Tash, as part of its autumn exhibition, Common Grounds – Counterculture & Confrontation Since 1976.
The exhibition marks the first major survey of Lodge’s work, bringing together five decades of photography documenting British counterculture, protest movements and grassroots activism, including the rise of the UK free party and rave scene.
Running from 25th September to 12th December, Common Grounds will feature more than 100 photographs alongside moving images, personal archives, projections and previously unseen material, including Lodge’s correspondence with officials and police.
According to the gallery, the exhibition explores themes including “collective identity, civil liberty, dissent, environmental responsibility, public space and state authority”.
Among the photographs on display are images from several defining moments in UK free party and protest culture, including Castlemorton in 1992, the 1985 Battle of the Beanfield, and the 1982 Summer Solstice at Stonehenge Free Festival.
After moving to Nottingham in 1990, Lodge became involved with the city’s DiY sound system collective and documented free parties across the UK. His photographs now provide an extensive record of the UK’s free party movement and wider counterculture from an inside perspective.
Find more information about the exhibition on the Bonington Gallery website.
In 2022, Alan Lodge spoke to Simon Doherty about the 30th anniversary of Castlemorton about its impact and documenting the history-making free party — read the interview here.
Lodge’s photography was also featured in Aaron Trinder’s 2025 documentary, Free Party: A Folk History.
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Informação baseada em material público de DJ Mag, reescrito pela redação ULTRA NOTÍCIAS.
