Tracy Marshall is a British curator. Ken Grant is a photographer
Episode 352: This was a bittersweet episode to record. It was bittersweet since I had recorded with Chris Killip right before his diagnosis in 2020. We had recorded about 30 minutes before the connection became untenable. We tried again a few days later and had a similar experience. When I reached out a few months later to see if some alternate plan could be hatched, Chris was already aware of his condition, and time became limited.
Somehow the Internet gods devised an intervention to our collaboration that still irks me today. It irks me as I am a huge fan of Killip. His work is incredibly sensitive, meaningful, and reflective of much more than when it was crafted. It extends past Skinningrove, past the North, and past Britain itself. It becomes universal in application, so I am indebted to Chris for his work and those who were the subjects of his lens work.
In lieu of speaking with Chris, the next best thing was the discussion I managed to have with curator, festival organizer, and all-around firecracker Tracy Marshall and editor and revered photographer Ken Grant. They are a couple, but we won’t let that get in between things. Tracy and Ken organized both the Chris Killip 1946-2020 retrospective exhibition and book installed recently at The Photographer’s Gallery and is now traveling to Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.
During the conversation, we spoke about the influence and work of Killip and how the exhibition and book came to be. It was deep, and I am thankful to Tracy and Ken for spending the time with me to go over it all with earnest and open dialog. You will want to dig in for this one.
