Richard Billingham is an English photographer, artist filmmaker from Birmingham. He is best known for his photography book called Ray’s a Laugh (1996), which documents the life of his alcoholic father, Ray and his obese and heavily tattooed mother, Liz. He also published a few short films about his parents, including Ray & Liz (2018), which is a memoir of his childhood, depicting the poverty and deprivation he grew up in. In these projects his parents are portrayed as grotesque figures.
In 1996, Billingham had a photography exhibition at the National museum of Photography, Film and television in Bradford, UK and in 1997 his work made it in the exhibition Sensation at the Royal Academy of Art which showcased the art collection of Charles Saatchi.
References:
Adams, T. (2020). Mr and Mrs Billingham and Frosty Jack’s | Tim Adams. [online] the Guardian <https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/mar/13/richard-billingham-tower-block-white-dee-rays-a-laugh-liz>[Accessed 5 Dec. 2019].
Gallery, S. (2020). Richard Billingham – Artist’s Profile – The Saatchi Gallery. [online] Saatchigallery.com <https://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/richard_billingham.htm> [Accessed 5 Dec. 2019].
