The East End
From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, McCullin photohraphed communities of men and women living on the streets of Aldgate and Whitechapel in east London. Located at the edge of the wealthy financial centre of the city, the area is unrecognisable today, following extensive gentrification. McCullin began photographing people who he believed had been left living on the streets following the closure of psychiatric instructions. He lamented the fact that capitalism works against people at the bottom of the social ladder who are unable to fight against its powers.
McCullins believes that capitalism led to the closure of these unprofitable instructions which, in turn, feft many residents homeless. Far from reflecting objectively on this social crisis, McCullin instead worked closely with the people he photographed. He took several images of a woman called Jean, and his study of her hands is both a testimony tot he harsh reality of her living conditions and to McCullins's connection to his subjects.
