ORLANDO GILI / SMITHFIELD NIGHT MARKET

Historic Smithfield Market is Central London’s home of meat/poultry and Orlando’s next photography series. Taken in the dead of night Orlando pathed the streets camera in hand to capture this landmark, which unfortunately is set for permanent closure.

The last pubs had long closed and it was a few hours before tube station shutters were wrenched open.

Experiencing Smithfield at night is to uncover a secret parallel world that operates in the shadows while the rest of London sleeps. There is a sense of frenetic energy and unpredictability. Forklifts whizz past men in long jackets hunched over neatly stacked boxes, punching numbers into calculators and fielding phone calls. Inside the tall Victorian halls, behind large glass windows, carcasses are hacked into pieces at literally breakneck speed. It is a physical analogue space with a masculine atmosphere. There is a strong sense of camaraderie and familial spirit, many of the businesses are family run.

I returned on early mornings in winter to develop a portrait series that celebrates the people behind the market. Night workers provide an under-appreciated role in modern cities. They risk significant damage to their health to meet the demands of the 24/7 city. According to along-term US study of nurses, night shift workers are up to 11% more likely to die early compared to those who work day shifts.

The historic market will soon relocate to a £1 billion high-tech behemoth in Dagenham. The The closure of Smithfield ends over 800 years of trading meat in Central London as part of a wider trend to sanitise inner cities with less palatable aspects of urban life kept out of sight.’ Orlando Gili