Vinca Petersen

Vinca Petersen (born 1973) is a British photographer and artist, living on the Isle of Skye. Her photography book No System documents her life in the 1990s, travelling around Europe with sound systems, putting on free parties. Petersen's work has been shown in group exhibitions at Tate Modern, Turner Contemporary and Saatchi Gallery, and is held in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, National Portrait Gallery, London and Arts Council Collection.

Life and work Petersen was born in Seoul, South Korea. In 1989 she left home, aged seventeen, and moved into a squat in London. She worked as a model, appearing in i-D and The Face. The work is distinctive for its proximity to the subject; photography by people within the rave scene at the time was uncommon, with cameras discouraged due to the illegal nature of some activities.

Drawing from her archive, Future Fantasy (2017) is a collection of photographs from Petersen's life aged 16 to 24 as well as flyers, love letters and other ephemera. It also includes photographs by Day of Petersen, and artwork by Ben Freeman (AKA Ben Ditto).

Deuce and a Quarter (2018) documents a US road trip that Petersen made with Day, Rosemary Ferguson and Susie Babchick in 1999. They drove a 1970s Buick Electra 225 from Houston to Austin, through the Texas Hill Country, down to the Mexican border and beyond. The book's title is street lingo for the Electra 225. she lives on the Isle of Skye. Deuce and a Quarter. London: IDEA, 2018. Photographs by Petersen. Edition of 1000 copies.

Group exhibitions Sweet Harmony: Rave | Today, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2019. Included Petersen's A Life of Subversive Joy. Seaside Photographed, Turner Contemporary, Margate, 2019 Diaristic Photography and the Photobook, Tate Modern, London, 2019

Collections Petersen's work is held in the following permanent collection: Arts Council Collection, UK National Portrait Gallery, London: 1 print (as of 30 December 2022) Victoria and Albert Museum, London: 4 prints (as of September 2020)