Club 13 is the first published work by the Swedish photographer Nils Petter Löfstedt. The book documents the mayhem and antics of youthful partygoers in an anonymous city. Evoking the style of Wolfgang Tillmans, Löfstedt's stark images casually observe an array of distinctive nocturnal characters. Interspersed within these raw portraits are random soft focus shots of shrubs, flowers and landscapes. Excluding publishing credits there is no text whatsoever within the book which leaves the viewer unsure of what exactly Club 13 is or where it's located. The lack of any kind of information concerning Club 13 is perhaps an attempt to lend the photographs an air of mystery. The only snippet of information I gleaned from the Internet referred to Club 13 as a one time illegal club in Löfstedt's hometown of Malmo, Sweden. Without any background or context to the images one feels bewildered, frustrated and disengaged from this night-time netherworld. This is especially true of a number of blurred photos of people chatting at a bar or staring nonchalantly into the camera, which feel vague and superficial.



The book interlaces disparate moods of tension, danger, intimacy and tranquillity, as if the night could go in any direction from debauchery to violent mayhem. One page shows a hooded figure holding a flare with what looks like 'fuck the police' written on the ground. Turning overleaf the next photograph shows a blurred female figure bathing in a lake. Club 13 attempts to indirectly address themes of antagonism, shared space, youth culture and restlessness.




Interestingly, Löfstedt avoids recording the direct action of nightlife gone awry but instead documents the aftermath such as people passed out in the gutter or smashed up shop windows. This tactic accentuates the underlying mood of tension and pent up youthful energy within the book. Overall Club 13 feels like a more sophisticated version of drunken party photos taken on a particularly eventful and hedonistic evening. Like the morning after this compact collection of images leaves the viewer dizzy and slightly perplexed as they try and piece the evening together. —John Mathews