Richard Billingham 'Rays a Laugh' and 'Zoo'

Richard Billingham is an English photographer who caused quite the controversial stir through his work. He photographed his family and animals and the behaviour towards animals depending on the environment they find them in. Through his work we were given access to his family lifestyle which was a disfunctional land from the norm.

Some of Richard's own words:

"My father Raymond is a chronic alcoholic. He doesn't like going outside, my mother Elizabeth hardly drinks but does smoke a lot. She likes pets and things that are decorative. They married in 1970 and I was born after. My younger brother Jason was taken into care when he was 11, but now he is back with Ray and Liz again. Recently he became a father. Dad was some kind of mechanic, but he's always been an alcoholi. It has just got worse over the years. He gets drunk on cheap cider at the off license. He drinks a lot at nights now and gets up late. Originally, our family lived in a terraced house, but they blew all the redundancy money and, in desperation, sold the house. Then we moved to the council tower block, where Ray just sits in and drinks. That's the thing about my dad, there's no subject he's interested in, except drink."

His photography also showed the distinction in animal environments. In the first photograph we see his mom coddling the little kitten and holding onto it as if it is it's own child, while in the second the animal seems a prisoner.