In the first edition of Cruising Archeology, Jack Scollard, co-founder of SMUT Press, showcased a series of objects left behind and subsequently re-discovered across popular London cruising areas. These objects—trash, used condoms, empty bottles of poppers—were, in Scollard's words, “repositioned and recontextualized as artifacts.”

Now, Scollard’s moved on to the next phase of the project. The sequel, Cruising Archeology II: Eurotrash, takes readers across notable cruising grounds across Europe to discover the detritus that’s left behind to become an artifact. 

In this interview that’s been edited and condensed for clarity, Scollard talks about the process of putting together this new compendium, and what they’ve learned from their examination of international cruising areas.

How did the second edition of Cruising Archeology come together?

The first project seemed to resonate with a lot of people. I mean, the book sold out by the end of summer. I also thought it would be interesting to expand it in terms of the locations. This edition is all across Europe in different cruising areas. And the idea was to see the similarities and particularities were to each area based on the artifacts.

I also wanted the writing to expand and to draw on different perspectives in relation to cruising. Stav's piece on lesbian cruising, which was originally delivered as a speech in an academic environment, is a good example of this.

Did you find any stark differences between cruising culture in the UK versus across Europe?

It's pretty universal. I found the only thing that was quite specific to each location that I found interesting was different countries and different health services have their own civic PSAs or like health campaigns around safer sex. 

Has creating this work changed the way that you cruise?

I think in a different way and I see it through a different lens. As I was going through each of these cities, I became better at being able to figure out where I was going to find objects because I could recognize on the ground where the paths were that were trodden over quite a few times. Or where it looks like a very discreet place that was hidden away, where people could potentially have sex. So my perception of the geography has been sharpened.

So you’ve become a better cruising archeologist?

Yeah, but it’s also funny, because I'm looking for objects, but I'm not necessarily looking to hook up anymore.

You don’t hook up when you cruise?

Sometimes I do. There have been times where I've gone to some of the spaces with the set intention to find objects, and then I end up becoming distracted. And then there's times when I go with the intention to be distracted by men, and I end up scouring the ground and picking up objects.

Did you find that people cruise differently in different parts of the world?

I mean, no. Even though cruising has a particular history, everyone seems to know the language. The language around it is quite universal. There's the same double look back, there's the slow walk away. That was a universal thing that everyone knew how to do. 

It always seems to be the same geographies, the same language, and there's no handbook given out to us. It's something that's innate.