For over three decades, photographer Liz Johnson Artur has documented the communities around her, building an extraordinary archive that celebrates beauty, resilience and human connection. Her latest project immortalises one of London's most beloved queer spaces in the book PDA, capturing the electric energy of a bygone underground music scene.
The Underground Oasis
PDA was a monthly queer club night that ran from 2011 to 2021 in a Hackney basement, becoming a cult favourite among London's LGBTQ+ community. The club's name embodied its playful, fluid spirit - the abbreviation PDA didn't stand for one specific phrase, but founders suggested it could mean everything from Public Display of Affection to Please Don't Ask and even Pretty Dick Available.
What set PDA apart was its radical inclusivity and lack of door policy. "There was a lot going on in front of and behind the DJ booth!" Johnson Artur recalls. "PDA embraced everyone. I was 30 years older than everyone there, but it was beautiful watching them take their space."
Capturing the Spirit
Now 61, Johnson Artur became a regular at PDA despite not being a clubber herself. Her photographs, taken over several years, show revellers dancing until 6am in lavish outfits, flexing thigh-high boots, their bodies glistening with sweat under the basement lights. The images pulse with energy, seemingly jumping to the sound of the bassline.
"They do something to people," she says of music events. "They can let go. It's the most generous art form we have, because it needs us. It lives from how we react to it - and you can feel it's yours and no one can take that away from you."
The book features both striking posed portraits, where subjects confidently meet the camera wearing little more than sequins and heels, and candid moments of unchoreographed joy - shared laughter, embraces, and kisses amid the chaos of the dancefloor.
Beyond the Nightclub
PDA also reveals the community that existed beyond the club's walls. One recurring figure is Carrie Stacks, the night's co-founder and DJ, photographed both at the decks and at home preparing for the night. These daytime images provide intimate glimpses into the lives of PDA's community.
"I don't look at it as a club book," Johnson Artur explains. "It is always about looking at people. It's about how they create spaces to be safe with each other."
The photographer developed what she calls "aunty feelings" toward the younger revellers, eventually bringing her daughter along and hosting post-club meals at her home. "We really enjoyed each other's company," she says, noting that this mutual respect and trust is evident in the photographs.
A Personal Journey
Johnson Artur's approach to photography was shaped by her unusual childhood. Born in Bulgaria to a Ghanaian father and Russian mother, she spent her early years taking four-day train journeys between Germany and the Soviet Union. "You would spend 24 hours with strangers in a small compartment," she remembers. "You start out being suspicious of each other, but in Russian culture, you put food on the table and you share, and you start talking."
This experience of sharing confined spaces with strangers informed her photographic practice. "I photograph people because each person has a story. I can't tell it verbally, but I can make a point about human existence."
Her technical discipline was forged during leaner times. After receiving her first camera in the mid-1980s, she couldn't afford to waste film. "If I had five rolls, I had to stretch them to get the pictures I wanted. I couldn't afford to mess up." This rigorous approach means every picture in her extensive archive counts.
The End of an Era
The book concludes with an image of a reveller walking home in the early morning, a poignant reminder of the temporary nature of such spaces. "That's how we exist as humans," Johnson Artur reflects. "We have a wonderful time, then suddenly it's over."
She laments how London's DIY spirit has diminished: "People were making clubs in whatever room they could just for a few months. But it's changing. You can't do that now. It's becoming harder to have any space. That's a very painful thing."
PDA stands as a vibrant testament to a specific time and place in London's queer history, while also capturing universal themes of desire, freedom and the human need for self-expression. As Johnson Artur puts it: "We're only here for a minute. Let's enjoy it."
