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9 photos that capture the spirit of togetherness through raving
Cheyenne Clementi and Valentina Morandi's new book documents free-party ravers travelling across Europe and attending a Teknival party
Never Alone 1997-2004, Raving In Europe, a new photographic archive book, documents illegal raves across Marseille, Lisbon and Prague. Following a group of free-party ravers, Cheyenne Clementi and Valentina Morandi show the spirit of community within the rave scene at its purest through their lens.
Spread across 226 pages, the pair of Milan photographers record European travels and a raucous Teknival party. The book will be released on November 25 via Union Editions. Read the written excerpt, translated from Italian to English, accompanying the photos below.
It's daytime, lunchtime, more or less. Yesterday we went downtown to distribute flyers with the infoline for next Saturday's party and we bought food.
With some pallets and a half iron door we built a plate that works perfectly. If we're lucky there's still some alcohol left in the truck left over from the last party. It's late afternoon. We are stopped at the Autogrill waiting for the trucks that got lost along the way. We are near Marseille but headed to Lisbon.
We parked near the entrance lane of the Autogrill, so they can see us from afar and enter without making complicated maneuvers. In the meantime we rest, take advantage of the break and boil the water for the pasta.
It's dawn. After the Teknival in Prague we stopped near a river: it is cool and there is plenty of water for taking a bath and washing clothes. The colors in the sky are so rich in shades that they are beautiful even in black and white. The atmosphere is soft and relaxed. A soft musical carpet comes out of the system of some truck, lulling me to rest.
It's sunset. The sun descends behind the wall of crates, taking away the second day of this celebration. The cones of light of the system slowly begin to take shape and their frenetic dance emerges in the void as the minutes pass.
Let's light the pilot lights of the fire show to be ready to put on a show as soon as it gets dark. Perhaps it is just a tangle of energies, places and relationships, where memory and experience are doubled, confusing each other and obscuring memories.
