Richard Billingham: Ray's A Laugh

A seminal book - a collector's item Published by Scalo in 1996,”Ray's a Laugh” is an intimate and startling postrait of Billingham's family -- his mother Liz, father Ray and brother Jason -- in their the Black Country council flat in Birmingham. Ti's a story about the struggle of unemployment, poverty and alcoholism. From the back cover: "This book is about my close family. My father Raymond is a chronic alcoholic. He doesn't like going outside and mostly drinks homebrew. My mother Elizabeth hardly drinks but she does smoke a lot. She likes pets and things that are decorative. They married in 1970 and I was born soon after. My younger brother Jason was taken into care when he was 11 but is now back with Ray and Liz. Recently he became a father. Ray says Jason is unruly. Jason says Ray's a laugh but doesn't want to be like him."