In Flagrante by Chris Killip

In Flagrante by Chris Killip


_mg_95481The photographs in Chris Killip’s book In Flagrante were taken in England’s industrial Northeast during the late 70’s and early 80’s. In 1969, after seeing his very first exhibition of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he decided to return to his home of Isle of Man to photograph it. During this time industry was on a huge decline, and it greatly affected the surrounding families and communities. His photos put a human face on a disastrously depressed economy. He says this is a subjective book about his time in England. He takes what isn’t his and covets other people’s lives. The photographs can tell you more about Killip than about what they describe. He wanted his work to be more than a document. He aspired for it to be something that is as close as you possibly could be to the subject. In these photos you can feel a connection between the photographer and subjects. Chris coming from a very harsh environment, cared very much about family and communities and it shows in these pictures.father-and-son-west-end-newcastle-1980-1He spent two decades living in the struggling industrial communities of the Northeast, immersing himself in the region’s landscape and culture. These photos convey what it feels like to be living and working in these places at this time. The photography he practices depicts real moments in people’s lives. He took pictures of stern faced adults and bored teenagers with nothing to do and nowhere to go. He says a smile is a defense mechanism. You get closer to the real person when they stop smiling. He befriended many of the people he photographed, and gained their trust. So he watched and waited patiently until their guard was down, to take a photograph. The sense of pent up rage edges into despair, as the government’s tyranny continues on. Where shipyards were retrenched and mines closed, leading to the Miner’s Strike of 1984.
By Billy Sears