WHOLESALE MARKET LIFE THROUGH THE LENS OF CLIVE BOURSNELL

September 18-19 and 22-23, 6am to Midday

The Atrium, The Food Exchange, New Covent Garden Market, Nine Elms

Everyone welcome

Since a fateful day in 1968 when he found himself by chance in the perfect spot to view the captivating lights and shades of Covent Garden Market, Clive Boursnell has been embroiled in a lifelong pursuit to provide the world with photographs that truly encapsulate the essence of this wholesale market’s life and times.

Fifty-seven years, tens of thousands of photographs and several published books later, Clive is still hooked.

Over those six decades, he has seen the market relocate to Nine Elms, in 1974, transform itself from a centuries-old WC2 structure to brand new buildings on the south bank of the River Thames and recently, as a major redevelopment programme replaces those 50-year old units with state-of-the-art facilities fit to see the country’s oldest and largest wholesale market through the rest of the 21^st century.

When he began capturing his unique photos – images that could only be taken in the market – Clive’s subjects were often from the early 1900s. He now regularly blinks down his lens at youngsters born this side of the Millennium. Barrows were gradually replaced by forklifts, bushels and crates made way for trays, punnets and buckets. And, of course, the fantastic portfolio of premium fresh produce and flowers traded here has expanded as the population of London and the South East has diversified and the appetite for the unusual and the exotic grew with it.

Clive’s interest has never been simply the subject itself. On any given day, his focus might be on the glistening or dimming of the light, the speed and accuracy of the movement, the total focus of a picker or packer, the deep, expert inspection of a customer. Above all, he’s enthralled by the utter dedication that shine through the people and processes that make up market life.

It’s a life that takes place largely during the early hours of the morning, while London sleeps, blissfully unaware that the food and flowers that keep its people healthy and happy are being sourced, traded and supplied by a part of the supply chain that is often overlooked, but never lets them down.

Clive’s incredible dedication has brought us images that bear testament to a place of rugged, but real beauty, to a community full of passion, commitment and love, and a trade that the population could not do without.

The veteran snapper’s own commitment to this market’s cause was recently recognised with an Outstanding Achievement Award at the World Food Photography Awards and this month’s exhibition will feature Clive’s own selection of photos from the last 20 years at New Covent Garden Market.

After preview events on the evening of September 17^th and the following morning, the exhibition will be open to anyone who wants to meet Clive and see the latest chapter of his lifetime of work.

We look forward to welcoming you.