SWIMMING POOL presents: A Study on the Immortality of the Rave Flyer (2022) in collaboration with Leander Vancraeymeersch. This publication offers a glimpse of the rich legacy of visual imagery of Belgian and Dutch rave culture that peaked in its diversity during the last decade of the 20th century.
The rave flyer belongs to a niche genre of graphic ephemera: one that is fleetingly produced and even more quickly consumed. But as a medium, they were absolutely vital to the way the rave scene spread. Over time, rave flyers turned out to be a primary source that documented different subcultures and the party scene of the nineties, far more explicitly than any artwork or record ever could.
After all, entry stamps fade, bruises heal and your head will stop pounding at one point and the only evidence a rave truly leaves behind are its flyers….