In Flagrante Two

by Chris Killip (Photographer)

The photographs that Chris Killip (born 1946) took in Northern England between 1973 and 1985 were first published by Secker & Warburg as In Flagrante in 1988, a volume that quickly established itself as the most important 1980s photobook on England and a classic of the genre. Compassionate but unwavering in its gaze, In Flagrante documented industrial Northern England in decline, suffering from the aftershocks of neoliberal economic strategies most brutally embodied in the policies of Margaret Thatcher. "The objective history of England doesn't amount to much if you don't believe in it, and I don't," reflects Killip. "And I don't believe that anyone in these photographs does either, as they face the reality of deindustrialization in a system which regards their lives as disposable."

Chris Killip: In Flagrante Two revisits the classic photobook with a beautifully produced, radically updated presentation: each double-page spread features a single image on the right side. Strident in its belief in the primacy and power of the photographic image, In Flagrante Two allows for and embraces ambiguities and contradictions arising from the unadorned narrative sequence, completely devoid of text--forcing viewers to truly look, to witness.

Genres: Photography, Art

108 pages, Hardcover

First published May 24, 2016

About the author

Chris Killip is widely regarded as one of the most influential British photographers of his generation. Born in the Isle of Man in 1946, he began his career as a commercial photographer before turning to his own work in the late 1960s. His book, In Flagrante, a collection of photographs made in the North East of England during the 1970s and early 1980s, is now recognized as a landmark work of documentary photography. Other bodies of work include the series Isle of Man, Seacoal, Skinningrove and Pirelli.

In 1991 Killip was invited to be a Visiting Lecturer at the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University. In 1994 he was made a tenured professor and was department chair from 1994-98. He retired from Harvard in December 2017 and continued to live in Cambridge, MA, USA, until his death in October, 2020.

His photographs feature in the permanent collections of many major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Museum Folkwang, Essen; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Reviews

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's a photo book and has no words, but i still think you should read it

[Ясен В. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing work by a British photographer that really feels for his subjects and uses that intimate connection to make photographs that are technically, visually and emotionally stunning. A book with almost no text, that tells quite a lot. A stand out in our small collection.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5?)

[lex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublime photography of the working class in Northern England, taken during the heavy economic decline in the seventies and eighties. Killip fully embedded himself within these communities which allowed for these candid-like images, yet taken with a large, 4x5 press camera. There is a great cohesiveness to this series, even though the photos were taken across various cities over a long period of time. This new edition improves on the original by not placing the photos across the gutter anymore.

If you happen to be in the Netherlands currently, do visit his wonderful career retrospective in The Hague. Nearly all of the pictures in this book are shown there.