The socially-conscious photography of Chris Killip at The Photographers' Gallery
Delve into the often-overlooked social history as captured by Chris Killip in this landmark retrospective...
January 4, 2023
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
Chris Killip (1946-2020) was kicked out of school on his 16th birthday; he was never academic but after a chance encounter with a Cartier Bresson photograph in a cycling magazine, he picked up a camera and would become one of the UK’s most influential photographers, influencing the likes of Martin Parr and eventually being invited to teach at Harvard University.
The retrospective currently showing at Photographer's Gallery covers Killip’s work documenting the everyday lives of people from the Isle of Man to the Industrial North including his series at the village of Skinningrove, North Yorkshire. Killip’s penetrating photographs are a result of a deep connection to the communities he documents. His work is at times heartbreaking, with a palpable feeling of empathy toward the effects of deindustrialisation on working-class communities in the North.
Killip’s ability to assimilate into the communities he photographs gives his photography an intimacy, the absence of which often creates a sinister voyeurism in the work of other documentary photographers. His photographs offer the viewer an unparalleled window into highly insular and protective worlds. In his own words, his work illuminates the lives of people that would otherwise be left in the dark.
From 8AM till the end of the day, Killip would go out and photograph inspired by the street photography of Weegee. He was the first British photographer to use flash when it wasn’t necessary, a technique that inspired and would later characterise the work of Martin Parr (though Parr would use flash with colour film). Of this Killip said the reason was simply that using flash meant he could be quicker and more mobile as it meant he did not need to spend time figuring out the lighting or adjusting the focus.
Killip has been careful not to romanticise the deprivation he has immortalised. While his photographs have been described as ‘heart-breaking’ by the Getty Museum, Killip claimed he tries not to be cynical. Although his photographs show moments of joy and beauty his work is not patronising. He claimed in an interview that this is because he too is from Manx ‘peasantry’ - people deeply connected and dependent on the land and sea - and therefore feels a strong affinity to those he documents. This distinction in perspective is evident for instance in the photography of Mexico by Manuel Álvarez Bravo; compared to Paul Strand, Strand captures what he expects to find while Bravo being a local is able to capture the unexpected in a far more playful way.
The people we see in Killip’s work are people who ‘have history done to them’; Killip describes himself as a historian but while history is written from a distance Killip is capturing it from the viewpoint of those who endure it. He has been influenced by the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans who photographed for its own sake rather than for a commercial purpose.
As a teenager Killip worked in his father’s pub in the evenings and photographed with a 35mm camera during the day. He made enough money to get to London by working as a beach photographer and began working there commercially. But after a trip to New York where he saw the work of Bill Brandt, Paul Strand and Walker Evans, he decided to return home to the Isle of Man. He started taking portraits of his neighbours and when one day one of his subjects said ‘you don’t want to be using that camera, you want a 4x5’, Killip made the switch and never looked back. The large format camera requires more precision in its use but surpasses 35mm in resolution, offering deep crisp images that would come to define his work.
Not always welcome in the communities he sought to capture, Killip was at times literally chased out of town, though his persistence often led him to form close relationships with his subjects and live beside them for long periods. It is hard to imagine how a middle-aged man in a suit, with a 1950’s 4x5 camera flashing in the faces of partying punks, was never confronted while he documented the anarcho-punk music venue, The Station, in Gateshead in the 80s. Killip recalled ‘Every Saturday that I could I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was’. Perhaps the key is that he never saw himself as a stranger, and was content to move to secluded coastal towns in a caravan and observe life as it happened as a part of the community.
Now in its final months, this retrospective exhibits over 140 works, the most comprehensive survey of the photographer's work to date, including previously unseen works from Killip’s archive. Don’t miss your chance to see it before 19th February at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Chris Killip, Retrospective is showing at The Photographers' Gallery until 19th February.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
