Pictures of the week: London's Square Mile, by Polly Braden

Polly Braden began photographing the Square Mile of London in 2006, fascinated by the way that this City within the city operates. With its own Lord Mayor and independent police force, the Square Mile is something of an oddity, and Braden’s photographs pose the question, “What is this space in the middle of our city?” → Photograph: Polly Braden

It is not, she admits, an area that has been particularly easy to capture on camera. “The Square Mile is quite grey and suited and bland,” Braden says. “People rush in and rush out, so it’s very difficult to get images of people who are not walking. It’s not a friendly place to photograph; you get moved along by security guards quite a lot. But it’s [also] an extraordinary place within London. It just sits there in the middle of everything and gets on with itself without really being questioned.” → Photograph: Polly Braden

In 2008, when the financial crash took place, Braden felt compelled to continue documenting the heart of the financial district. Along with City employees and those who travelled in to protest during the crisis, her series also features the behind-the-scenes nightshift workers who keep the City looking spotless, King’s College students graduating at the Barbican and newlyweds posing on the steps of St Paul’s. → Photograph: Polly Braden

The Square Mile’s 7,000 residents are also of interest to Braden, who often contrasts powerful architecture against the tenderness of people living on the City’s housing estates, as well as those working nearby. “There’s a big tradition of photographing in cities,” she says, “where you can capture that reflective light, such as in the photo of the man on the steps on Appold Street – at first, you think he’s a City worker, then [you see] he’s carrying a plastic bag and he’s got a cigarette holder. I love that intrigue: what is this guy doing in the Square Mile? And the shot with Thomas Heatherwick’s sculpture in the background makes you think of the crash – the woman looks like she’s just lost her job, although she’s probably just walking from one office to another with a pile of boxes."
Photographs from Polly Braden’s Square Mile series feature in World Atlas Of Street Photography, to be published later this year by Thames & Hudson. Photograph: Polly Braden