Inspired by the powerful paintings of Gorbals children by Joan Eardley, Joseph McKenzie travelled to Glasgow between 1964 and 1965 to create what would become one of his most celebrated photographic studies. Produced during the final years of the historic Gorbals district before widespread redevelopment, the series captures children at play amidst the tenements, streets and derelict spaces of a rapidly changing neighbourhood and declining urban environment.

Rather than portraying poverty or hardship alone, McKenzie’s photographs reveal the resilience, imagination and spirit of childhood. His empathetic approach allowed him to record authentic moments of friendship, play and community within a landscape shaped by slum clearance, creating images that are both historically significant and deeply human.

Today, Gorbals Children is recognised as one of the defining photographic records of post-war Glasgow and yet has never been shown in Glasgow in its entirety. Inspired by Joan Eardley’s vision yet unmistakably his own, the series preserves a remarkable portrait of a community on the brink of profound change and helped establish Joseph McKenzie as one of Scotland’s foremost documentary photographers.

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