Working-class photographers start their UK tour in Coventry
British Journal of Photography
by Philippa Kelly
1d ago
Eddie Otchere, MC GQ, Elvis Meade, Stoke Newington, Hackney, 1995, Courtesy the artist A new travelling exhibition explores what it means to be a working-class photographer documenting the working-class experience in post-Thatcher Britain In summer 1989, political scientist Francis Fukuyama wrote: “What we are witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or a passing of a particular period of postwar history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalisation of western liberal democracy as the final form of human government ..read more
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Tokyo drift: In the studio with Johny Pitts
British Journal of Photography
by Ravi Ghosh
3d ago
All images © Phoebe Somerfield From Sheffield to Peckham via Japan, the artist is tireless in his search for life in all its complexity. His next journey is to the heart of ‘future nostalgia’. We catch up with him at his London studio When Johny Pitts left school, he worked at Debenhams in Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre, stacking and occasionally selling crockery. It was not long before he was sacked for breaking too many plates. Embarrassed to tell his mother, he pretended he still had the job, leaving the house on shift days and wandering aimlessly through the city. He would venture ..read more
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‘Ray’s a Laugh’ continues to court controversy
British Journal of Photography
by Gordon MacDonald
5d ago
All images by Richard Billingham, from Ray’s a Laugh, 2024. Courtesy the artist and Mack A new version of Richard Billingham’s pioneering family project raises the same old questions around access, class and sensation For those who are new to the story of Richard Billingham’s rise to fame through the first printing of  Ray’s a Laugh, it is worthwhile revisiting the context of publication and the frenzy around the emergence of this work in 1996/7 – beyond just the story of a ‘proletariat-sevant’s’ remarkable rise from poverty and his shelf-stacking job at Kwik Save. Though often pitched a ..read more
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In Beirut, solar panels and water tanks tell a story of decline
British Journal of Photography
by Ravi Ghosh
1w ago
All images © Dia Mrad Dia Mrad’s people-free photographs capture the resourcefulness of the Beirut population How do you photograph a crisis that is engulfing every section of society? That was the question facing Dia Mrad when he returned to Lebanon in 2019, having spent two years in Europe following his master’s degree in architecture at The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh. Back in Beirut, he shared the anxieties and mounting anger of his fellow citizens. The 17 October Revolution had led to prime minister Saad Hariri’s resignation, with widespread protests against sectarian rule ..read more
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How to make a collaborative photobook on autism
British Journal of Photography
by Philippa Kelly
1w ago
All images © Harley Bainbridge With over 100,000 people awaiting an autism diagnosis in the UK, Harley Bainbridge spent time with one family navigating the highs and lows of the system “I was aware that autism is a spectrum, but I wasn’t aware of how broad a spectrum it is,” says Harley Bainbridge – “not until I got to meet the families and to know individual kids and their characteristics. That’s really when I discovered that most representations of autistic people are really narrow. They tend to show people as almost neurotic, or else autism is described as a superpower.” Often characterise ..read more
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Feminism’s lost decade? Artists reflect on today’s turbulent politics
British Journal of Photography
by Diane Smyth
2w ago
Chapungu – The Day Rhodes Fell, 2015 © Sethembile Msezane Featuring artists from across the world, this south London show surveys lens-based activism beyond straight documentary The last decade has seen key changes for women and women’s rights, particularly around bodily autonomy. In 2020 the Polish Constitutional Tribunal brought in new laws preventing abortion in the case of foetal abnormalities, effectively banning terminations in all cases except incest, rape and danger to the mother’s health. Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, a landmark framework for combating gender-based vi ..read more
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A grandma’s advice: ‘Ignore the negative thoughts, life is hard enough anyway’
British Journal of Photography
by Diane Smyth
2w ago
All images © Lucija Rosc Lucija Rosc’s new project aims to capture her elder mentor’s creativity through collage, jokes and a vinyl record “The most important thing my grandma taught me is it’s best to do what you love and ignore the negative thoughts, because life is hard enough anyway,” says Lucija Rosc. “She is a very optimistic person, very funny and lovely.” Born in Slovenia in 1995, Rosc has spent a lot of time with her grandparents, hanging out with them rather than going to kindergarten, and continuing the relationship once she was at school. Her grandmother, Mica, spent years working ..read more
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The marginal, meandering histories of Tarrah Krajnak
British Journal of Photography
by Max Houghton
2w ago
All images © Tarrah Krajnak. Self-portraits from the series Master Rituals II: Weston’s Nudes Informed by her own history and the established canon of photography, Krajnak’s work is a complex exploration of presence and place To rephotograph, to reimagine, to reclaim. Such words imply a necessary revisiting, an action that must happen again and again, and, as such, serve to animate the work of Tarrah Krajnak, whose significant oeuvre has only recently begun to be acknowledged by major prizes and institutions after a two-decade-long photographic and teaching practice. The hallmark of her often ..read more
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In a time of global conflict, photo quilts offer unlikely solace
British Journal of Photography
by Mick Moore
3w ago
Sudan, Lives Torn Apart by War, 2023 (Original Image 1986). All images © Jenny Matthews and courtesy Street Level Photoworks Jenny Matthews’ work is proof that a camera is a weapon in the hands of women, empowering them to dismantle societal norms and document untold stories Sewing Conflict: Photography, War and Embroidery is a powerful solo exhibition by documentary photographer and filmmaker Jenny Matthews. Her latest work demonstrates an important strand of contemporary British art practice in combining photography and embroidery – an engaging blend of visual storytelling and traditional c ..read more
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OnePlus Photography Awards 2024: ‘People underestimate how amazing photographs taken with mobile phones can be’
British Journal of Photography
by Philippa Kelly
3w ago
This article is sponsored by OnePlus OPA. Find out more here Now in its fourth year, the international competition champions smartphone photography. Judge Mati Machner reflects on how the practice has democratised image-making Like many photographers starting out during the late 1990s, Mati Machner’s introduction to the medium came via an analogue point-and-shoot camera. At the time, he found the comparatively small, simple device to be something of a mystery. Yet to master ISO, aperture or shutter speed, a young Machner began snapping away in the hopes of understanding more about the world a ..read more
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