An artist who dedicated his life to looking the world straight in the eye, even when he himself could not bear to “see” his own reflection.
The opening of the exhibition will take place on Saturday, February 28, at 20:30, at the Old Furnaces of Technopolis City of Athens, in the presence of the artist himself. The evening marks not only the opening of an exhibition, but also an encounter with one of the most important photographers — a witness to history who captured life, death, and everything that unfolds silently in between with unparalleled sensitivity.
A little earlier, at 19:00, at Gas Holder 1 – “Miltiadis Evert” Amphitheatre, Sir Don McCullin will present his work and discuss it, along with his life’s path, with Christina Kalliyianni, General Coordinator of Athens Photo World. This conversation serves as an introduction to the spirit of the artist and to the conceptual universe of the exhibition — a rare opportunity to hear the voice behind the images before they welcome the public into the exhibition space.
As he himself says:
“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.”
Sir Don McCullin is considered one of the greatest living photographers — an eyewitness of our time, who for more than five decades documented war, poverty, and human suffering with a compassion both rare and unyielding. Starting in London’s East End, he followed the traces of history into wounded places: Vietnam, Cambodia, Lebanon, Biafra, and far beyond. Though he came under fire, was injured, and experienced captivity, he returned again and again to conflict zones — not out of attraction to danger, but out of a sense of responsibility toward those who had no voice.
In his later years, his gaze turned to more peaceful subjects. He travelled across Africa, India, and Indonesia, seeking the poetry of everyday life, while also capturing the English landscape with the same inner intensity. His work — including Southern Frontiers — received the highest critical acclaim. But beyond books and distinctions, what remains unmatched is his courage and his unique ability to create images that are not merely seen — they are etched into memory.
The exhibition presents 47 specially selected photographs from the book Life, Death and Everything in Between. The images speak directly to Athens — a city shaped by history, memory, resilience, and the enduring imprint of conflict and social change.
Centred around the iconic portrait of the shell-shocked soldier — one of the most recognizable images of the twentieth century — the exhibition traces, with uncompromising honesty, themes of war, labour, hardship, and everyday perseverance. These are not simply historical documents, but images that continue to gaze back at us, demanding a place in the present.
Alongside this defining image, McCullin’s work highlights the dignity of workers, the quiet strength of women and families, and the human cost borne by the powers of industry and politics. Taken together, these photographs present McCullin not only as a witness of conflicts, but also as a humanist chronicler of lived experience — a vision that resonates deeply within Athens and its collective memory.
Many of the works are exhibited for the first time in Greece and Europe, following their presentation at Xposure 2025 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The collection offers a personal insight into McCullin’s evolving perspective, as he revisits and re-evaluates his archive. This is not a traditional retrospective nor a definitive anthology; instead, it reflects the artist’s insight, decades of work, and a lifetime of experience, captured through photography’s power to reveal the complexity of the human condition.
The exhibition stands as a tribute to McCullin’s legacy and his unwavering commitment to storytelling through the lens.
Each image invites viewers to explore the profound thresholds between life, death, and everything that lies between — where moments of resilience and loss, light and darkness, collide and coexist.
Saturday, February 28 – Thursday, March 12, 2026
Free admission.
Open daily 10:00 – 22:00, except on the final day (12/3) when the exhibition will be open 10:00 – 15:00.
