Chris Killip: Retrospective for influential British photographer

A retrospective of work by one of the UK's most important and influential post-War photographers, Chris Killip, has opened in London.

Killip was best known for documenting the lives of working-class people in post-industrial north-east England, marginalised communities and disappearing ways of life.

Girls Playing in the street, Wallsend, Tyneside,1976

Born on the Isle of Man, in 1946, Killip became a beach photographer in 1964, before working as an assistant in Chelsea.

In the late 1970s, he co-founded Newcastle-upon-Tyne's Side Gallery, dedicated to photography.

Outside Redheads Shipyard, South Shields, Tyneside, 1976

Torso, Pelaw, Gateshead, Tyneside, 1978

Family on a Sunday walk, Skinningrove, 1982

His stark but sympathetic observation focused attention on issues and communities often neglected or hidden.

In his series Seacoal, he photographed men on horse-driven carts reclaiming coal discarded into the sea from a nearby mine.

Gordon in the water, Seacoal Beach, Lynemouth, 1983

Unidentified man and Brian Laidler, Seacoal Beach, Lynemouth, January, 1984

Boo' on a horse, Seacoal Camp, Lynemouth, Northumbria, 1984

Cookie in the snow, Seacoal Camp, Lynemouth, Northumbria, 1984

A book to accompany the exhibition draws on thousands of images, showcasing Killip's most influential as well as the lesser known works.

Youth on wall, Jarrow, Tyneside, 1975

The Station, Gateshead, 1985

Bever, Skinningrove, N. Yorkshire, 1983

Lawrence & Judith Quillam, Ballayock, Earystane, 1973

All images copyright Chris Killip Photography Trust/Magnum Photos

Chris Killip runs at The Photographers' Gallery until 19 February. The accompanying book is published by Thames & Hudson.