Chris Killip

The definitive, full-career retrospective of the life and work of Chris Killip (1946-2020), one of the UK's most important and influential post-war documentary photographers.

'I didn't set out to be the photographer of the English de-Industrial Revolution. It happened all around me during the time I was photographing.' — Chris Killip, 2019

Grounded in sustained immersion and participation in the communities he photographed, Chris Killip's keenly observed work chronicled ordinary people's lives in stark, yet sympathetic, detail. His photographs are recognised as some of the most important visual records of 1980s Britain. As editor of this book, Ken Grant reflects, they tell the story of those who 'had history "done to them", who felt its malicious disregard and yet, like the photographer with whom they shared so much of their lives, refused to yield or look away.'

Published to coincide with the first full retrospective of Killip's life and work at the Photographers' Gallery, London, Chris Killip presents photographs from each of his major series alongside lesser-known works. Designed by Niall Sweeney & Nigel Truswell at Pony Ltd, it includes a foreword by Brett Rogers, in-depth essays by Ken Grant tracing Killip's life and career, and texts by Gregory Halpern, Amanda Maddox, and Lynsey Hanley.