Your Sunday Inspiration ✨

Ray's a Laugh ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Richard Billingham, from Ray’s a Laugh, 2024. Courtesy the artist and MACK Few British photobooks are as artistically significant as Richard Billingham’s Ray’s a Laugh, and few have sustained such a long critical afterlife – questions of class, ethics, and composition which still excite (and frustrate) viewers to this day. A new MACK edition is the artist’s own updated sequence, retaining all the shock value of the original work while also inserting pauses and quieter moments away from the fractured relationship between the artist’s parents Ray and Liz. Billingham’s black-and-white portraits of Ray are especially tender. The story of Ray’s a Laugh is also revealing on how careers are made and nurtured in UK photography: it was Paul Graham who first introduced the young Billingham to his gallerist Anthony Reynolds; Martin Parr convinced the Barbican’s hierarchy to include Billingham’s photographs in Val Williams’ 1994 show Who’s Looking at the Family, which also featured the work of Nick Waplington, another young artist making pictures in the Midlands’ working-class communities. Waplington’s colour photographs of his grandparents’ Nottingham hometown responded to what the artist saw as “the grainy, downtrodden, black-and-white interpretation of working-class life” typical of the 1980s. His 1991 Living Room photographs are airier and more positively energetic than Billingham’s, whose studies of round-the-clock drinking and addiction-induced sedentariness create an atmosphere of entrapment – of life beyond the resources and empathy of the rest of society. Both projects capture a specific moment in UK aesthetic history (the wallpapers and rugs alone could generate their own exhibitions) but what do they mean for audiences today? Ray’s a Laugh in particular cannot be treated as a documentary time capsule, Gordon MacDonald argues in his article below. And Living Room has now very much taken its place in the 21st-century art world: you can see the work in exhibition form at London’s Hamiltons Gallery until 25 May. Now a new generation of artists are tackling the question of working-class representation in the UK. A new show, After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989-2024 features emerging talents Kavi Pujara, Serena Brown and Rene Matić alongside Hannah Starkey and Tom Wood. Look out for an extended studio visit with the exhibition’s curator Johny Pitts online tomorrow, and you can see the show at the Herbert in Coventry from this Friday. ‘Ray’s a Laugh’ continues to court controversy A new version of Richard Billingham’s pioneering family project raises the same old questions around access, class and sensation [Read more]( [Build the way you want]( The NPG’s Sabina Jaskot-Gill: ‘We’re a living, working collection’ Ahead of a new show pairing Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron, we get to know the National Portrait Gallery’s senior curator of photographs [Read more]( [Build the way you want]( In Beirut, solar panels and water tanks tell a story of decline Dia Mrad’s people-free photographs capture the resourcefulness of the Beirut population [Read more]( [Build the way you want]( Unlock the power of words in photography Join us on April 20 for a one-day introductory workshop led by industry experts Simon Bainbridge and Colin Pantall and tailored for photographers keen to sharpen their writing skills. Learn how to craft compelling narratives about your work, from project statements to engaging your audience effectively [Learn more]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [1854 Media Ltd, 244-254 Cambridge Heath Rd, Cambridge Heath, London, E2 9DA, United Kingdom Click here to update your email preferences]( [Click here to unsubscribe from all emails](