The Holburne Museum in Bath is hosting a new exhibition, 'Don McCullin: Broken Beauty', which presents a lesser-known side of the renowned photojournalist. Known for his stark black-and-white images of war and conflict, McCullin now turns his lens to Roman sculptures, captured during visits to museums around the world.
The exhibition features photographs of ancient statues taken at various international museums, many never before seen in the UK. McCullin, now 90, has described this show and a final trip to the Vatican to photograph more statues as his swansong. He told the Guardian: 'I'm too old to work now. After 60-odd years, I'm slightly tired of it all, really.'
McCullin's fascination with Roman statues began in the 1970s during a trip to North Africa with writer Bruce Chatwin. After Chatwin's death in 1989, McCullin revisited that experience and produced a book, 'Southern Frontiers: A Journey Across The Roman Empire'. More recently, he has photographed statues in US and European museums, often before or after public hours.
The exhibition juxtaposes these sculpture images with McCullin's iconic war photography from Vietnam, Cyprus, and Northern Ireland. McCullin has always resisted the label of 'war photographer', stating: 'I'm a photographer the way somebody who would paint pictures would be called an artist.'
A striking feature of the sculpture photographs is their jet black backgrounds, which McCullin attributes to his 'dark side' from years of documenting tragedy. Holburne director Chris Stephens noted the 'phenomenal' intensity of the black, adding that the exhibition highlights McCullin's empathy and ability to draw out humanity even in horrific subjects.
After his final Vatican visit, McCullin plans to focus on his garden in Somerset, where he hopes to grow dahlias and tomatoes. The exhibition runs at the Holburne Museum from [date not specified].
