The first solo exhibition in Britain of photographer Del LaGrace Volcano showcases the vibrant and largely undocumented motorcycle dyke culture of 1980s San Francisco. The show, titled Sensual/Mutual, is on view at Auto Italia in east London through October 25 and features photographs taken between 1980 and 1982 at Scott’s, a working-class lesbian motorcycle bar, as well as images from an artists’ hotel in San Francisco and a land commune near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Volcano, a queer artist born in California in 1957, captured intimate moments of women drinking, arguing, undressing, and engaging in sex within a community that embraced the presence of the camera. At the time, Volcano lived as a woman named Della Grace and was a student at the San Francisco Art Institute. In one notable photo, Volcano appears with six motorcycle riders, positioned third from left in the image.

The photographs provide a rare visual record of lesbian leather culture at a period when such scenes were nearly invisible in mainstream photographic archives. Gay male leather subcultures had been documented earlier, but their lesbian counterparts remained largely unseen. Volcano’s work seeks to address that absence by offering immediacy and authenticity through grainy, close-up 35mm images shot in low light. Unlike objective reportage, these were collaborative efforts within a community Volcano was part of, not an outside observer.

The social context of the early 1980s adds significance to the work. At that time, tensions within feminist circles—especially amid the sex wars—often cast BDSM and leather cultures in a negative light. Books like Janice Raymond’s 1979 The Transsexual Empire further complicated the landscape by excluding or challenging the inclusion of transgender individuals in feminist and queer spaces. Volcano, who identifies as genderqueer and non-binary today, has reflected on these divisions, noting past acceptance within the community as well as subsequent shifts toward gender-critical stances among some former allies.

Volcano’s career evolved after moving to London in 1982. Their later work focused on sex-positive lesbian subcultures and challenging societal norms about gender and sexual identity. Despite international recognition and influence on contemporary artists such as Cassils and Zanele Muholi, this early body of work remained largely unseen in the UK until now. Volcano has spoken about the art world’s discomfort with their refusal to portray subjects as victims or damaged, instead presenting them as empowered figures.

Sensual/Mutual emerges not just as an archival project but as an ongoing dialogue about visibility, identity, and the power found in difference. At 69, Volcano continues to create with an emphasis on celebrating strength and diversity within queer communities.