ABSTRACT
For John Kippin, art has no purpose if it does not question social values. For Kippin, photography offers a means of exposure, expression, and critical engagement, at its most effective when pursued with subtlety. This overview of his appraisal of British values over thirty years from the Thatcher era onwards was commissioned as one of several essays in a book that includes extracts from his many photography projects. Attention is drawn to his sophisticated deployment of visual language taking account of the specificity of theme and subject-matter for each investigation and acknowledging audience’s increased sophistication in terms of visual communications. It is concluded that, taken as a whole, his many projects and publications testify to the significance of his contribution to critically questioning histories of people and place through imagery that resonates with memory and imagination.
