“Life, Death and Everything in Between”: Athens Photo World presents for the first time in Greece the renowned photographer Sir Don McCullin

Athens Photo World, in collaboration with the Xposure International Photography Festival, presents for the first time in Greece the legendary war photojournalist Sir Don McCullin with the exhibition Life, Death and Everything in Between.

The exhibition opens on Saturday, February 28, at 20:30, at the Old Furnaces of Technopolis of the Municipality 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 of our time – a witness to history who captured with unparalleled sensitivity life, death, and everything that silently unfolds between them.

Earlier that evening, at 19:00, at Gas Holder 1 – “Miltiadis Evert” Auditorium, Sir Don McCullin will present his work and discuss his career with Christina Kalligianne, General Coordinator of Athens Photo World, in a conversation that serves as an introduction to the spirit of the artist and 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 McCullin 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 among the greatest living photographers – an eyewitness to our era who for more than five decades documented war, poverty, and human suffering with rare compassion and unwavering honesty.

Beginning in London’s East End, he followed the traces of history to wounded places: Vietnam, Cambodia, Lebanon, Biafra, and far beyond. Although he came under fire, was injured, and experienced captivity, he returned again and again to conflict zones – not out of attraction to danger, but from a sense of responsibility toward those who had no voice.

In later years, his gaze turned toward more peaceful subjects. He traveled across Africa, India, and Indonesia in search of the poetry of everyday life, while also capturing the English landscape with the same inner intensity. His work – including Southern Frontiers – received widespread critical acclaim. Yet beyond books and awards, what remains unmatched is his courage and his unique ability to create images that are not merely seen, but etched indelibly into memory.

The exhibition presents 47 carefully selected photographs from the book Life, Death and Everything in Between. The images resonate directly with Athens – a city shaped by history, memory, resilience, and the lasting imprint of conflict and social change.

Anchored by 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, labor, hardship, and everyday perseverance. These are not simply historical documents, but images that continue to confront us, demanding a place in the present.

Alongside this defining photograph, McCullin’s work highlights the dignity of workers, the quiet strength of women and families, and the human cost imposed by industrial and political power. Together, these photographs present McCullin not only as a witness to conflict, but as a humanitarian chronicler of lived experience – a perspective that resonates deeply with Athens and its collective memory.

Several of the works are being shown for the first time in Greece and Europe, following their presentation at Xposure 2025 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The collection offers a personal look at McCullin’s evolving vision, as he revisits and reassesses his archives. It is neither a traditional retrospective nor a definitive anthology; rather, it reflects insight, decades of work, and a lifetime of experience captured through photography’s power to convey the complexity of the human condition.

The exhibition stands as a tribute to McCullin’s legacy and his steadfast dedication to the art of storytelling through the lens. Each image invites viewers to explore the deep intersections between life, death, and everything in between – where moments of endurance and loss, light and darkness, collide and coexist.