Championed by her friend Simone Rocha, photographer Eimear Lynch has just published her new book ‘Girls’ Night’ which documents her fascination with teenage discos in Ireland…
How did you get into reportage photography?
It’s always been something I was interested in, but I didn’t really see myself doing it. I always wanted to do fashion photography and would usually take my references for fashion work from reportage photography and I realised how closely linked the two styles are. I’ve wanted to do more fashion work but magazines never replied to my emails so I was disheartened by it. So instead of relying on magazines or brands, I started doing reportage photography. It’s something I can go out and do by myself without having to be hired to do it.
How and where do you work?
I just moved to Brighton and I work from my flat there. I mainly research and edit at home at a desk and shoot on location. I rarely shoot in studio.
Can you tell me about the inspiration for your new book, Girls’ Night?
I’ve always wanted to make work in Ireland. I haven’t made much work there because I moved to London in 2018. So I was excited to go back and discover parts of Ireland I hadn’t seen before.
The project allowed me to travel around the country, which was really lovely. Girlhood and teenage girls is something I’ve become really interested in in the last few years. It’s a really fascinating time in a person’s life. I’ve been thinking about my own teenage years a lot and wanted to relive them through this project.
For Girls’ Night, I travelled around Ireland to photograph teen discos, and to try and capture the anticipation of girls as they prepared for them. In a way, I wanted to relive my teenage years. I loved going to discos. I mostly loved the hours of getting ready with friends beforehand. It would take most of the day. We’d usually go straight to one of the girls’ houses after school on a Friday and spend the following five to six hours doing our tan, hair, and make-up together.
It wasn’t all for the boys. We knew they didn’t care what colour of eye shadow we wore or whether we curled or straightened our hair. The discos were more of a place to show off our new make-up skills that we probably learned from Kiss magazine and to pretend to be women for the first time.
Eimear (middle) at a teenage disco.
We were no longer kids. We were no longer twelve-year-olds who our parents were dressing; we were 13-year-olds and were allowed to wear the body con cut-out dresses we ordered from ASOS and pretend we could walk in the cheap stilettos from the shops on Henry Street.
The transition from child to teenager comes about so fast and suddenly you’re completely consumed by your appearance and the first signs of womanhood. Amidst the insecurities and pressures that accompany this transition, there’s also an undeniable thrill in the anticipation of growing up. I remember the excitement I had as a teenager to finally be able to partake in the rituals of beauty culture. It was a sweet spot where the positives of womanhood were untainted by the weight of any impending challenges.
Do you have any favourite images?
I really like the big group photos of the girls in the discos. There’s also a portrait of a girl in one of the discos that I really like. She’s wearing a baggy T-shirt and black fishnet gloves. She was one of the only people not wearing the same dress as everyone else and I think she looks really happy and comfortable in herself.
Need to know: Girls’ Night by Eimear Lynch, with foreword by Simone Rocha and writing by Gráinne McCullough, Marley Nolan & Eimear Lynch, is published by IDEA, €40. The book was launched during Photo London at Dover Street Market.
Simone Rocha’s foreword: “Teenage bedrooms, Ironing your hair flat on the ironing board, taking turns to do your friends, To a backdrop of music videos on MTV on tiny TVs in bedrooms, Little small ones in red which you could put a video tape in, Outside lining up against the wall in the dark in the queue, Then waiting for your friend’s parents to pick you up behind the petrol station. The best nights of your life.’”
