Fotograf Magazine

Paul Graham is without a doubt a photographer who gave the 1980’s and most of all British society of that time a very distinct image. Similar to an American William Eggelston, of the generation before, or his contemporary Martin Parr with his almost naturalistically expressed shots of banal scenes he became a pioneer of the new colour documentary. The entire generation at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980’s passed through the split from classic, harmonious, black-and-white documentary of earlier times. Of course, Paul Graham intervened therein with his somewhat different style characterised throughout by a conceptually-designed and experimental, provocative approach; unburdened by classical photographic training (education). It appears, however, that this portrayal of the rough, British reality under advancing Thatcherism, social crises, Irish conflicts and the punk revolt was indeed appropriate.