Richard is an English photographer and artist who is best known for his photobook Ray’s A Laugh which documents the life of his alcoholic father Ray, and obese, heavily tattooed mother, Liz.
He came to prominence through his candid photography of his family in Cradley Heath, a body of work later added to and published in the acclaimed book Ray’s A Laugh (1996). Ray’s a Laugh is a portrayal of the poverty and deprivation in which he grew up. The photographs, which were taken on the cheapest film he could find, provide brash colours and bad focus which adds to the authenticity and frankness of the series. Ray, his father, and his mother Liz, appear at first glance as grotesque figures, with the alcoholic father drunk on his home brew, and the mother, an obese chain smoker with an apparent fascination for nicknacks and jigsaw puzzles. However, there is such integrity in this work that Ray and Liz ultimately shine through as troubled yet deeply human and touching personalities. The critic Julian Stallabrass describes Ray and Liz as embodiments of “what is in legend a particularly British stoicism and resilience, in the face of the tempest of modernity.
I’ve included a few examples from his series ‘Rays a laugh’ Plus a ‘Vimeo Link’ from his book for extra research. I really enjoy this series because you can easily see how the story evolve through each of the images you almost get to know the characters and their situations. It’s like every shot has so much passion and meaning with in them which makes you feel a part of their lives.
None of the images shown are set up or planned for the shoot, their all very natural and basic, but that’s what makes the series a lot more passionate and creative. As it’s telling the story through real life situations and reality. Billingham’s photographs have the substance of showing the negative side of his family which makes me so absorbed into his series ‘Ray’s a laugh. Most photographers or viewers expect to see the nice, clean environment of their family. And not the side that Billingham portray’s, which personally makes the audience a lot more observed and intrigued by his series. It gives the viewers a taste of what it is like to live the way Billingham’s family does, which brings the realistic approach to his series. I think his series ‘Ray’s a laugh is immensely fascinating and extraordinarily artistically pleasing with the way Billingham has shot each image in it’s own way and form compared to other photographers. It gives Billingham his own personal touch to his series of Images
https://vimeo.com/36929439
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