The Bauhaus Stills embodies Lawrence DIY. I have been photographing DIY concerts since March 2023 and I am one of very few people who are making a record of this underground scene. However, this has made the coverage of DIY shows very one-sided. Everything is documented from my perspective. The Bauhaus Stills asks what would happen if I gave the camera to the people and let fate capture a show.

In order to let go of control, the process is fairly simple: I buy three rolls of the cheapest 35mm color film and take my point-and-shoot film camera to a DIY show at a house venue called “The Bauhaus” and let the camera run wild. The camera gets passed to people attending the show and can be anywhere at any time. This allows people to capture any and all aspects of a DIY show at Bauhaus. Pre-show moments, live music, intermissions, and post-show shenanigans. Anything is fair game. Anyone who wants to take pictures can take pictures. My involvement in the project is to simply be a curator of the work, choosing images that show both the live music and community aspects of a Bauhaus show that are then put into a zine that is sold at the next Bauhaus show. Then, the cycle continues. 

This project reveals an underground movement of music that is happening right under everyone’s noses. A movement that dates back decades, way before me and Bauhaus. I hope that this project elicits feelings of nostalgia for any of my parents’ friends who have told me that “Lawrence doesn’t have the same concerts that they used to”. The zines also act as a physical document for anyone who wants to look back and reminisce on the nights we spent at Bauhaus. Underground music scenes like DIY will always exist, you just have to know where to look.