The Underground Car Enthusiast Scene

Sam Farrell

Statement

My exhibit aims to document and encompass the mood of the settings in-which car enthusiasts meetup. These locations are often gritty urban environments suitable for lowered and modified cars and vehicles. My motivation for the project stimulates my active involvement in the car scene with me and my group of friends. My aim is to portray car enthusiasts in a positive light which is often a different perspective from what the mainstream media show. I aim to show that us car enthusiasts simply enjoy meeting and discussing what we love most; our cars. I have used photographers such as Gregory Crewdson and Ewan Spencer as inspirations for my style of imagery to show the locations we choose to meet at as well as portray the topics of conversation which come about. My project questions why the car scene tainted with a pessimistic eye. Why are the majority of car enthusiasts looked down upon by society for merely being interested in cars. The community surrounding the car scene is generally filled with friendly people looking to learn about each other’s builds. Car meets across the country can range in size from groups for 2 or 3 all the way up to multiple adjoining car parks filled with like-minded enthusiasts. The general discussion at these gatherings are individuals' cars, whether that be them showing a new modification such as new wheels or an exhaust. The nature of the car scene is that everyone's car is unique to them and recognisable. “Oh there’s Jake in his bright purple Golf R!”, people’s cars are an expression and an extension of their personality. Other photographers at larger car meets usually focus purely on people's cars when they are parked up. It’s always nice to see your car featured on a Facebook group or Instagram account, but no one really captures the events from afar. I’ve tried to encapsulate the emotion and mood rather than the cars themselves. Taking a step back you get a different perspective of the location us enthusiasts choose to meet and you can see a correlation between them.