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If you don’t know the work of Richard Billingham, then it’s about time you did. I first came across the series ‘Ray’s a Laugh’ whilst I was doing research for a photography project in my first year at Uni, and I’ve loved it ever since.
The series is based around the photographers dysfunctional family, who are torn apart by alcohol and poverty. The book depicts his alcohiolic father (in images such as him sitting by the tioet after just being sick, below), squalid surroundings and violent interactions between the family members. It is raw footage of Billinghams’ closest family members, that shows a sometimes uneasy portrayal of their lives.
However, the images are contrasted with moments of love and happiness, and when i first went through the book from cover to cover, I was brought almost to tears of joy with the image of his grinning father lying in bed. This book takes you from despair to happiness with only a turn of the page, and is one of the most compelling photo-stories I have ever read.
You can buy the book on Amazon by clicking here.
