The decline of Greatham Creek was brought about largely by pollution in the estuary during and after the Second World War, which severely impacted the area’s ecology. By the late 1970s, the community had all but vanished, its cabins falling into disrepair and the site eventually cleared. Macdonald’s work preserves a place and community that might otherwise have been forgotten, offering a rare record of a way of life shaped by its environment and by quiet resilience in the face of change.

In the early 1980s, Side Gallery commissioned Macdonald to extend his focus across the wider Tees Estuary. This later work, including the Tees Estuary series shown in 1982, built on the themes first explored at Greatham Creek: industry and nature, presence and disappearance, and the powerful stillness of overlooked places. Together, the two projects form a vital part of Macdonald’s long-term commitment to the landscapes and communities of North East England.

Ian Macdonald, born in 1946 in Middlesbrough, is a British photographer whose work is deeply rooted in the landscapes and communities of the North East of England.

Since 1968, Ian Macdonald has consistently photographed the people and places of Teesside, one of Europe’s most heavily industrialised area in the Northeast of England - his photographs capturing both the physical structures of industry and the people who lived and worked within them. He has built an extensive body of work that reflects the changing character of the region, from shipyards and steelworks to coastal villages and open landscapes. Creating images that are not just records of place, but also studies of resilience, labour, and the passage of time.