Some are there to be anonymous. Others are there to be seen.

Torture Garden, London’s longest-running fetish club, invites you to lose yourself in spectacle. Before this project, I’d assumed photography would be forbidden. And for attendees, it is, except in a designated photo booth. But a considered number of professional, vetted documenters can receive a photographer's pass for the evening.

Hosted at Electrowerkz, TG, as it’s dubbed, is a maze of stairs, darkly lit corners, dance floors with pumping techno, outside courtyards and private sex rooms, where all photography is banned. Even though I had permission to shoot there, questions swirled beforehand. What would I see? What did I want to capture? Would I feel like a voyeur? How should I dress?

But my nerves dissolved. Everyone was out for a good time, within the strict ground rules laid out. Stewards were on hand throughout the night to ensure their safety – and many clubbers were happy for me to approach, chat with and photograph them. Those that weren’t, politely declined. “I’m in the army.” one lad told me with a grin. In wider crowd shots, I used long exposures to obscure faces, while representing the charged atmosphere.

As a rare female documenting the club, I had a unique perspective. TG Director Charlotte Hellicar describes it as a sacred space. She wants to push boundaries but is steadfast in upholding the need for consent and respect – something that as a woman I know firsthand is often missing in traditional clubs.

Credits:

Photography - Emily Scarlett Romain

With thanks to Charlotte Hellicar at Torture Garden and those featured : Danny Ash, Dodo Potato, Ella Darling, Miss Terri Boxx and others, who wish to remain anonymous.