Join us on Friday 9th November, between 6-9pm, for the launch of exhibitions Visible Girls Revisited and Invisible Spaces, presented by Historic Environment Scotland as part of their Year of Young People. Please RSVP to visible@hes.scot.

In 1981, photographer Anita Corbin captured pivotal “coming of age” moments in the life of 56 young women – all members of different subcultural tribes: Skins, Mods, Punks, Rockabillies, New Romantics, Rastas and young lesbians. The result was an extraordinary collection of double portraits that represented sisterhood, friendship, belief and allegiance against a potent backdrop of heightened social, cultural and political change in ’80s Britain.

36 years on Corbin wondered:  what happened to all those women who were so dedicated to their subcultural tribes? What became of their dreams and beliefs? Supported by Arts Council England, Anita has re-photographed most of the original girls using new digital technology, creating a set of images that will sit alongside the originals in this touring exhibition.  It also incorporates original tape recordings with some of the girls made in 1981.

This powerful exhibition brings together two eras of a woman’s life, interweaving societal changes, women’s rights, identity and the question we all ask ourselves at some point in our lives: ‘who am I really?’