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Photobook by Kirsty Mackay documents those left behind by the cost-of-living crisis

Through a collaborative project with affected communities, photographer Kirsty Mackay's The Magic Money Tree captures the UK's cost-of-living crisis through a very personal lens.

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Woman and child holding hands walk past a brick wall with a yellow barrier, both wearing dark jackets

Since late 2021, the prices for essential goods have been rising dramatically around the world. And the UK has been just as affected as everybody else.

Some have seen their incomes rise accordingly due to government action (such as with pensioners), industrial action, or simply supply and demand in the jobs market driving up wages. But many have been left behind, and some are now struggling to survive day to day.

Acclaimed photographer Kirsty Mackay is set to release a powerful new book this October. It will tell the stories of some of these people and highlight the harsh realities of poverty in modern Britain.

Young person with long dark hair holding their hand in front of their face against a brick building backdrop
Modern communal living space with teal walls, black sofas with patterned cushions and a central coffee table with plants beside large windows
A woman in glasses serves food from a pot to people gathered in a community space, documenting the cost-of-living crisis for Kirsty Mackay's project
Person in black clothing holds a pink placard reading "TAX THE RICH" above their head in a rural yard with caravans and buildings behind them

Titled The Magic Money Tree, it offers an unflinching look at the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on communities in the Black Country, South Shields, and Bristol.

But this is by no means 'poverty porn'. In fact, the way Kirsty went about making the book is more about helping the people involved rather than exploiting them.

How it was made

Known for her empathetic approach to social issues, Kirsty collaborated with children, families and youth groups to create a compelling narrative that puts those most affected by economic hardship at the forefront.

The project provided participants with compact film cameras and offered workshops to help them develop photography skills and express their experiences. Children's voices are at the forefront of a narrative told collectively through photography, drawing, painting, banners, and testimonies.

A woman and child stand at a bus shelter where white text on the window reads "It's greed. That's what it's about. Greed", with laundry in a green pram beside them.
Weathered dark green door with white handwritten text stating "Poverty is trauma. It has a negative physiological impact on individuals, families & communities. Poverty like suicide is avoidable

The result is a provocative juxtaposition of heartbreaking deprivation and the innocence and fun of childhood. "Their pictures give it more colour and life," says Kirsty. "My pictures are more serious." They are often more overtly political, too; encouraged to share paintings and topics that mattered to them, the children are also seen carrying homemade placards, articulating their anger and rage.

The book's title references former Prime Minister Theresa May's notorious 2017 quote about there being "no magic money tree" to fund public services. Using a combination of Mackay's own photographs and images taken by project participants, the book traces the impact of government policies on working-class communities across England.

Social inequality

It's a subject that is close to its creator's heart. Mackay grew up in a working-class tenement block in Glasgow, beside a more prosperous district, meaning she saw and experienced social inequality from a young age.

The experience stayed with her and informed her 2021 project, The Fish That Never Swam, which considered class, isolation, life expectancy, and discrimination in her native city. Meanwhile, several years before Barbie's big-screen reinvention, Mackay questioned how the colour pink is marketed to young girls in My Favourite Colour Was Yellow.

People walking past boarded-up shop windows on an urban street in autumn, with fallen leaves scattered across the pavement
Weathered wooden fence with graffiti in front of row of terraced houses under a partly cloudy sky
Overhead view of coins spilling from a black fabric pouch with a red pom-pom on a paved surface, next to a cloth and metal grate
Abandoned blue van surrounded by fallen tree branches and overgrown vegetation in a sparse woodland setting

Acclaimed film director Ken Loach has praised her latest project, emphasising the importance of bearing "witness to the reality of living in times of hardship and poverty."

"To bring up a family in a way we would all wish, to live lives of dignity and security, and with future prospects assured is almost unimaginable for many," he says. "Look again at Kirsty's pictures: it is time we recognised our collective strength and made a few changes."

"Kirsty's work is real. It captures people's words, feelings and spirit," adds activist Victoria Heaney. "It's identifiable and connecting. The opposite of poverty porn and the fetishisation of working-class people."

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