Chris Killip: In Flagrante Two

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.

A rare opportunity to see the entire series. (Jean Dykstra Photograph Magazine)

Killip’s photographs are rich with history and with stories. (Carolina A. Miranda The Los Angeles Times)

[Chris Killip's] fierce loyalty to the hardscrabble people he portrays has lent his work, over the years, an unfailingly political charge. (Tomas Unger The Threepenny Review)

This book is a masterpiece (Moises Saman Photo-Eye Blog, Best of 2016)

Every picture is given space to breathe, and to reveal its secrets. (B+W Photography)

Widely considered Killip's masterpiece. (Paula Erizanu Wallpaper)

Chris Killip‘s In Flagrante Two succeeds so easily: you turn the pages, and the good pictures just keep coming. There are less than a handful of photographs I would not miss in the book. The rest are just brilliant. (Jörg M. Colberg Conscientious Photo Magazine)

Killip’s photographs invite us to contemplate the destruction of a way of life...They also challenge us to do something about it. (John Yau Hyperallergic)

Killip photographed tight-knit industrial communities of the [North East England] region in beautiful black and white, publishing the results in an iconic 1988 book, In Flagrante, named for a legal term that roughly means “caught in the act.” The photos are... available in a new book published by Steidl, In Flagrante Two, which adds two photographs to the series. (Jordan Teicher Slate.com)

[Killip's] photographs remain some of the most powerful images to ever capture 1970s and 1980s Britain. (Corey Charlton Daily Mail Online)