The Station

The Station by Chris Killip. First edition (2018). First impression. Large format newspaper style publication in new condition. Signed and dated by Chris Killip to cover. No markings. This is a new book. Please see pictures. PayPal accepted, any questions please get in touch.

About The Station

Late in 2016 Chris Killip’s son serendipitously discovered a box of contact sheets of the photos his father had made at The Station, an anarcho-punk music venue in Gateshead open from 1981 to 1985. These images of raw youth caught in the heat of celebration had lain dormant for 30 years; they now return to life in this book. The Station was not merely a music and rehearsal space, but a crucible for the self-expression of the sub-cultures and punk politics of the time. As Killip recollects: “When I first went to The Station in April 1985, I was amazed by the energy and feel of the place. It was totally different, run for and by the people who went there. Every Saturday that I could, I photographed there. Nobody ever asked me where I was from or even who I was. A 39-year-old with cropped white hair, always wearing a suit, with pockets stitched inside the jacket to hold my slides. With a 4 × 5 camera around my neck and a Norman flash and its battery around my waist, I must have looked like something out of a 1950s B movie. 1985 was just after the miners strike and there was a lot of youth unemployment. Most of the punks at The Station didn’t have a job, and this place, run as a very inclusive collective, was so important to them and their self-worth.”

Artist Bio

Chris Killip was born in Douglas, Isle of Man in 1946. Firstly, he left school at age sixteen and joined the only four star hotel on the Isle of Man. In June 1964 he decided to pursue photography full time. So, he became a beach photographer in order to earn enough money to leave the Isle of Man. After leaving he then worked as a freelance assistant for various photographers in London from 1966-69. In 1969, after seeing his very first exhibition of photography at the MoMA, he decided to return to photograph in the Isle of Man. On a return visit to the USA in 1971, Lee Witkin, commissioned a limited edition portfolio of the Isle of Man work. Paying for it in advance so that Killip could continue to photograph.

Related Links

More books by Chris Killip here. More books by Pony here.