Visible Girls: Revisited, Norwich

Visible Girls: Revisited, is a photography commission and national travelling exhibition of female portraits by photographer Anita Corbin. The exhibition brings together original images of women from different subcultures of the early 1980s and newly commissioned portraits of the same women now.

This work reunites women with their adolescent selves, exploring the ways in which photography can reveal and reflect upon identity and society at various stages of women's lives.

In 1981, as a young female photographer at the beginning of her career, Corbin made 28 double portraits of young women from different cultural groups: skins, mods, punks, rockabillies, new romantics, Rastas and young lesbians. She was fascinated by the ways in which cultural allegiance and identity were boldly and explicitly expressed through fashion, music and environment by women emerging from adolescence. Captured in their natural hangouts of clubs, pubs, friends’ homes and social centres, these girls were living in the moment and dreaming of the future. The resultant, ground-breaking project Visible Girls, toured the UK in the ‘80s and ‘90s, showing in youth clubs, town halls and libraries. The images were a rarity for the time, not only because of their subjects but because of the photographer's technical approach using slow colour film and portable flash.

In 2016 Corbin launched an international social media campaign in order to track the women down. Now, 38 years later and with over 80% of the women found, the original images of those ‘Visible Girls’ will be displayed alongside a new series - photographs of the women they became.

Accompanying the images will be original tape recordings from 1981 of interviews with some of the girls – and written interviews with the women made in 2017. The stories behind each image are revealed, exploring how the women's lives have changed since the original shot was taken. What has happened in those 37 years? Have their lives developed as they imagined? How have changes in society and its attitudes to women affected them?

The 56 women who feature in the images were mainly from London but some were on a day trip or on holiday in the city when Corbin photographed them. Some now live in Europe or even further afield. The exhibition tours England and each location will have a unique presentation inspired by the voice of the city.

At the Norwich Arts Centre exhibition opening in February 2018, two new double portraits taken by Corbin in 2017 will be revealed for the first time.

Do you know any of these Visible Girls? The search continues for the remaining 20% of the missing subjects - join us on social media and help us find them #VisibleGirls.

A special events programme accompanies the Norwich Arts Centre exhibition, including an artist’s talk with Anita Corbin on Saturday 24 February 2018. Anita Corbin will also be taking to the streets of Norwich, photographing and interviewing pairs of friends to capture the spirit of Norwich – it’s subcultures and friendships - on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 February 2018.