Aby Banks

Punk culture is nomadic; the punk house is the outpost.The 'punkhouse' may come in any number of forms. Perhaps the most common type is one in which a large number of like-minded people cram into a space meant to house two or three people, resulting in low rent and, thus, leisure time for the residents to pursue their interests. These interests vary from house to house and person to person, but there are clear themes that emerge as we examine this subculture as a whole.Punk Houses are anarchist warehouses, feminist collectives, tree houses, artists' workshops, self-sufficient farms, hobo squats, community centres, basement bike shops, speakeasies and all varieties of communal living spaces. Abby Banks captures the already-weathered face of a 17-year old runaway, the soft hands of a record collector, the mohawked show-goers, the dirty dishes in the sink, the silk screened posters on the wall and the gardens growing up between the cement of city blocks.