Good to see that Killip is finally getting the recognition in England that he and his photography deserved years ago …
At last the big book , the London show and Magnum representation …
Shame he’s not alive to see it , proof if proof were needed that British Photography is not a meritocracy …
Why are the best British photographers only given the establishment nod posthumously ?
He couldn’t even get a interview to teach photography at Newcastle Poly back in the day , now he’s a national treasure ?
Demographics eclipse photographics in England …
Strange place “Photoland” or should that be La La Land !
Chris Killip , the book is published by Thames and Hudson .
Chris Killip , retrospective is at Photographers Gallery , London until February , 19th , 2023 …
All rights , words and picture David Barrett
A blog from 2021 …
THE BLOKE AT THE BUS STOP !
October 12, 2021
Few people would describe me as shy or quiet nowadays but it wasn’t always like that …
It’s fair to say that I have been a big fan of all things photographic for almost all of my life , my humble Tyneside roots put me in the right place at the right time in many ways, as British Photography was shaping its voice, I had a ringside seat and everyday access to the 1970’s locations that inspired some of the worlds best photographers to create some of my favourite photographs and photo-books !
Wallsend , Walker and Byker were all very much my neck of the woods and part of my everyday , Side Gallery was also a hugely inspirational & influential hangout for the teenage me…
The work of Sirkka Lissa Konttinen , , Chris Killip & Graham Smith were amongst the first photographs I ever saw in a gallery setting , the teenage me never really knew how good this stuff was on first view as I had no yardstick with which to measure “Good Photography” at this time in my young 1970’s life, I knew nowt but I knew what I liked !
I thought that all Doc Photography must be like this ????
To cut a long story short the photographers at Side impacted my entire life in such a positive way that I studied photography and pursued a photographic career , in the early 1980’s I set up a project that introduced the people of Walker to photography as a recreational pursuit, we built a Community Darkroom and created a strong group that met once a week formally and frequently informally , we even ran fund raising discos upstairs in the Scrogg Inn public house ! Great days and great music , I became Dave Double Decks , DJ of a real 1980’s Disco by default …
In the early 1980’s I was familiar with most of the Killip work that eventually found its way into the acclaimed Photo-Book, In Flagrante , 1988 , as I had watched the body of work grow at Side Gallery , many of the views were from my everyday life at this time and Killip’s work showed me how to photograph and interpret the reality of my life during the era of de-industrialisation in the NE of England , I used to walk the streets seeking out the exact view points featured in Killip’s pictures and make a “Barrett” version with my £30 used Yashicamat LM , bought from a generous neighbor with my first weeks wages !
I had brief sightings of “Mr K” at Side Gallery but sadly I would not get the chance to meet Chris until many years later or so I thought ?
The truth is that I was meeting Chris Killip once or twice a week at the 39 , 40 bus stop on Welbeck Road but I didn’t really believe it was him or have the confidence to strike up a conversation and ask the ID question , you don’t expect your teenage Photo-Heroes to turn up at the Library Bus Stop week after week !
Just like you wouldn’t expect to see HCB in the “Middle” club on Raby street , Byker ?
Looking back I reckon I must have spent many cumulative cold, windy hours in the company of Mr Killip observing a polite silence or muttering nonsense , like you do with “Strangers” at the bus stop !
As I awaited the bus I would ask myself , “Is that him , it could be, naaa , looks like him, it can’t be , it is , naaa its not” ? It took me almost forty years to resolve this …
Another confession I must get off my chest today is arguably more embarrassing , the photo project I set up on Scrogg Road in the old doctors surgery was about forty meters away from the house that I now know Chris occupied in the early eighties. One day, when we were out beating the drum for our community photo project we unknowingly leafleted the house he lived in looking for new recruits , just as the leaflet was about to be posted at Mr K’s house, the door opened and a guy took the leaflet saying he wasn’t interested in photography but his fellow occupant “Chris” might be, he was a “Keen” photographer , Geordie understatement if ever there was , for the record “Chris” was Killip , he never joined the Walker Photography Group but I know he got the leaflet !
The irony of trying to recruit Killip to our ragle-tagle band of photo brothers and teach him photography still makes me smile , a very happy ironic memory !
Finally , I have carried the “Killip ID Uncertainty” with me for most of my life, I have never really been certain who the bloke at the bus stop was , I knew who I wanted it to be and I had “circumstantial” suspicions but I also knew that a Walker lad like me doesn’t get to meet his revered photo-heroes at the local bus stop !
Do “Famous” photographers catch the number 39 bus … ?
In 1980’s Walker they do …
I had the good fortune of meeting up with Chris at Parr Foundation many years later, in 2019 my suspicions and his ID was confirmed, we discussed many things , including life in Walker , the Scrogg Inn and the cold windy Walker Library Bus Stop …
Mr K never gave off the aura of a Master Photographer , he appeared to be a ordinary bloke to me , I think that is how he liked it and that’s my excuse …
Happy days, told ya it was him , told ya …
Hindsight is a marvelous thing …
Sadly we lost Chris Killip on 13th October 2020 , wish I had spoken at the bus stop , I have hazy memories of Chris and his house mates attending the Disco upstairs in The Scrogg , I could be wrong , they were great nights after all …
Rest in peace Mr K
All words and picture rights David Barrett , 2021 .
David is based in the South West of England .
MORE…
If your blessed with a bit more time feel free to visit highlights from Limboland , my Another Day Off project , The State Of Britain series or The Testing Times pictures , they represent the most turbulent years in modern British history and ten years of my life…
Forty of my Foto What I Took Blogs are still available too …