Capturing The Heart And Love Of The Bigg Market

By Stephen Noble on February 9, 2011 in Society

The Bigg Market has the kind of reputation you can’t really talk about. It’s not that it’s that bad, it’s just the obvious stereotypes of fat girls in small clothes being all…well…pissed into oblivion, to say it nicely, has become the only way to talk about it.

But then I’ve never seen it like an Italian. Pierfrancesco Celada, from North West Italy, spent three years documenting the Bigg Market for a freshly released photo book Insideout, aiming to show the friendships involved in a filthy night of filthy filth.

“From the moment I walked into the Bigg Market area at night,” said Pierfrancesco, “I’ve always been fascinated by the way people would interact with each other on the night time – maybe getting a little drunk but still able to enjoy the night out together.

: All images courtesy of Pierfrancesco Caleda

“I wanted to portrait this kind of behaviour, I was not interested in the fights or the nasty things that may happen because I believe that can happen in any big city, what fascinated me the most is the idea of belonging to a group, being part of a community. Like even if you get drunk, you have someone to support you to help take you out and take you home after the night.

“Fights may happen,

but that’s not the constant. I see the constant as having a nice time together, the fight’s don’t happen every time.”

Pierfrancesco originally came to Newcastle to study Biomechanics, and took three years to take the photos in his spare time – all of people he contacted through Facebook who said they were going on the lash to the Bigg time. Now an award winning photographer, he is hoping to expand this book into a series looking at British culture.

: Pierfrancesco Celada

Pierfrancesco added: “If you’re not used to a culture, your eyes will capture more, you see more things, whereas if you are inside the culture yourself you don’t see many things – everything is normal and so you see less.

“The Bigg Market is a concentrated area, you see all the kebab shops, the bright lights and the shouting all in one place, and also the Bigg market is known as the centre of the night life in Newcastle.

“If you follow people around, you can capture the concept of being part of a group, the importance of belonging to a group – a group of friends, a family, anything it’s about the strong relationships that can develop between people.”

Insideout is available for £15.95 here, and you even get a little preview of the book.

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