The nadir point is sometimes reached between 4 and 6 in the morning and represents the lowest level of activity of the human body during the 24-hour life cycle. During that time, I often felt like I was losing my balance and my whole body was getting tired. It was strange, physically and mentally, as if the ground was running from underneath my feet, as if I would ‘hear’ my body ‘screaming’ that it wants to lie down, but I couldn't stop, because I had to carry crates and bags, most of the time with a client in my shadow. I have heard and felt what nadir is for the first time in my life during the nightshift as a night ethnographer.
Dr. Julius-Cezar MacQuarie is a nocturnal anthropologist trained at Central European University, concerned with the invisibility of migrant nightshift workers from discussions on today's capitalism. He set up the NIGHTWORKSHOP project to research night work communities in urban spaces.
