Don McCullin exhibition - Tate Liverpool

At the Tate Liverpool, there is currently a Don McCullin exhibition happening, and, since I am lucky enough to attend these for free with my LJMU student ID card, I decided to go and take a look. McCullin is a photojournalist, particularly focused on war and urban injustices, such as poverty. The exhibition took me on a journey through countless wars and conflicts across the globe, from ones I previously knew of, like Vietnam, to ones I knew little about, like Biafra. It was extremely emotive, and I found myself having to look away from some photographs as they were far too upsetting or gruesome. Something which particularly struck interest in me, were McCullin's pieces on England, such as the East End and the North, in the 70s. It was heartbreaking and intriguing all at once to see how people lived in my own home just a few decades ago; it made the tragedies of the far-off wars resonate with me more, due to the similarities I could see.

A couple of photographs struck me harder than others, one of which was from Biafra, previously mentioned as a war I hadn't really heard of before. I felt almost guilty for having such little knowledge on something which has affected, and still is affecting, millions of people. Fortunately, the Tate displayed a large caption for each place McCullin visited, and I was able to gain some insight into each one - for example, Biafra is now known as the Nigerian Civil War, and included the government blocking supplies of food and medicine to its people, meaning that famine and disease were rife. Between 500,000 and 2 million people died, countless of whom were children. This particular photograph depicted a young child, who looked no older than five years old, who was horrifically thin and wearing nothing but a ragged jumper. Notebly, he was albino, which McCullin stated added to his sorrow, as the boy was not only subject to starvation, but also ridicule from his peers. He was in "a most pitiable situation" and "was like a living skeleton", according to the plaque caption. Moreover, he was clutching onto an empty owned beef tin, which was heartbreaking to see, due to the mere desperation he must have felt.

"A Father Holding the Body of his Nine-Year-Old Son", from Bangladesh, was another piece which really stood out. The title is descriptive of how horrible the context is - seeing a grieving, shocked father, clutching onto his young child's deceased body, whilst a seemingly new-born baby lays next to them, is truly one of the worst things I have ever seen. It is deeply depressing to know how many people witness these kind of things every single day. Sadder still, the photograph shows countless children in the background, again adding to the tragic knowledge that these people will most likely be scarred for life by the things happening around of them; things which are out of their control. "I found myself not wanting to look at what I had come to photograph

... I was horrified and heartbroken" McCullin said, when talking about the scenes he witnessed in Bangladesh, and all over the world.

Overall, McCullin's works have affected me greatly, and it is unimaginable how much these will have impacted on him, and the people he photographed. He puts his talents to good use, spreading awareness of the atrocities of war, and of poverty, via haunting black and white pictures. I would highly recommend going to Tate Liverpool, or simply looking up some of McCullin's pieces, since they really have changed my outlook on the world, and educated me on such important topics. More importantly, they have told the stories of the people who needed it the most.