English photographer Ray Billingham is best knownΒ for his bookΒ Ray's A Laugh which documents the life of his alcoholic father Ray and obese, heavily tattooed, mother Liz. "My father Raymond is a chronic alcoholic.Β He doesnβt like going outside, my mother Elizabeth hardly drinks,Β but she does smoke a lot.Β She likes pets and things that are decorative.Β They married in 1970 and I was born soon after.Β My younger brother Jason was taken into care when he was 11,Β but now he is back with Ray and Liz again.Β Recently he became a father.Β Dad was some kind of mechanic, but heβs always been anΒ alcoholic. It has just got worse over the years.Β He gets drunk on cheap cider at the off license.Β He drinks a lot at nights now and gets up late.Β Originally, our family lived in a terraced house,Β but they blew all the redundancy money and, in desperation,Β sold the house. Then we moved to the council tower block,Β where Ray just sits in and drinks.Β Thatβs the thing about my dad, thereβs no subject heβs interestedΒ in, except drink." Richard Billinghamβs Rayβs a Laugh will be presented together for the first time with new work portraying his own young family at the Guernsey Photography Festival until June 30. www.guernseyphotographyfestival.com
Photo by Jordan Bree Long
