The demolition of the Market Estate

The Market Estate in Holloway, north London was built in 1967 on the site of an historic 19th century cattle market. Everything except the centrepiece Victorian clock tower was demolished to build a ‘utopian’ vision of urban housing. Forty years on, the estate has fallen into disrepair
Photograph: Josh Surtees

To mark the passing of an era, art collective Tall Tales (in association with Southern Housing group) curated a one day event where 75 artists used 16 vacant flats and turned them into works of art. Here, the Analema Group’s laser show ‘A-Field’ lights up the event
Photograph: Marta Barszcz

Artists Jess Blandford and Joe Morris recreated a traditional 1960s living room complete with period furniture then painted everything in “toxic but hopeful” fluorescent yellow Photograph: Josh Surtees

Two months on the fluorescent yellow room has been stripped back ready for the bulldozers to destroy it. Bob Thurgood of the Higgins Trust is coordinating the demolition. “The art project made local people interested in what previously, to them, were just places to live.”
Photograph: Josh Surtees

The abandoned Tamworth block is a barren scene of concrete, timber and symmetrical grids. These building blocks and materials once formed the setting for lives
Photograph: Josh Surtees

Boyd Hill brought graffiti art from the streets into the living room. Working with themes from local newspapers and quotes from residents, Hill used his space to subvert the notions of art in the home. He encouraged local people to add to the spray-painted messages and murals on the walls
Photograph: Josh Surtees

With the rooms now exposed to the elements, Hill’s ‘street art’ creates a discordant juxtaposition wherein what belongs outside is inside in a dystopian domestic setting
Photograph: Josh Surtees

As Boyd Hill’s art is displayed for the last few moments before destruction, Keehan, an 11 year old boy from the estate tells me that in spite of moving into his parents’ brand new flat he is not happy about the demolition: “All these memories left behind and all this art. It’s sad.”
Photograph: Josh Surtees

Artists like Rebecca Glover used space to express the tension lurking beneath the surface. Her untitled piece featured blue spikes exploding from walls and cupboards, responding to the temporary nature of the installations, the often strained relationship between the community and the artists, and the imminent violence of demolition
Photograph: Miriam Mazelkowski

Another artist, Clarisse D'Arcimoles, made friends with 87-year-old Jimmy Watts, the longest-serving resident of the Market Estate. The artist occupied his flat; recreating how it would have looked in the 1960s when Watts and his family were proud to move to a new radical building. Here, home video footage is projected onto the walls
Photograph: Clarisse D’Arcimoles

Three ages of architecture. Bob Thurgood stands in a dismantled living room in the Tamworth block surveying the rubble and timber below. In the background is a well-maintained inner London council block – an example of how a 1960s building can be properly preserved. In the middle are the brand new houses designed by HTA Architects, built by Higgins Construction PLC and managed by Southern Housing as part of a redevelopment project overseen by Islington council
Photograph: Josh Surtees

With the front walls ripped away, we get a glimpse of the interior décor tastes of those who lived here. It is an emotional time. I found ex-resident David Kelly in tears as he explained: “It’s just overwhelming. Everything we’ve seen and done here comes to this end. It’s very moving.”
Photograph: Josh Surtees

After 43 years the Market Estate is ripped down by bulldozers – a final and conclusive act
Photograph: Bob Thurgood