“I tried to collect together an extensive range of work from what was historically sealed in the ‘grunge’ fashion era, notorious for ‘heroin chic’. The point of Whappen was to broaden the debate, to show that the range of documentary style photographic responses in the early 90s was a much broader, more idiosyncratic and less nostalgic phenomenon than the appointed flag bearers and their associate stylists were held responsible for.

As 80s ‘references’ have been bled dry in a visual culture fuelled on pre-ordained consumption those ‘in the know’ are turning to the 90s for an alternative visual fix. Similarly, we are witnessing a new cult of yearning for perceived authenticity and ‘heritage’, a disingenuous disguise in this time of social crisis. Look beyond the aesthetic surface of the work in Whappen and consider it’s various levels of engagement and critique, it’s definition in opposition and it’s responses to a shifting economic and political landscape, not unlike the ones we are witnessing here and now.” - Jason Evans, editor.