PAUL GRAHAM A1 – The Great North Road

PAUL GRAHAM A1 – The Great North Road

PAUL GRAHAM A1 – The Great North Road was his first book, published in 1983. Despite the UK having a vibrant photographic scene at the time, there were only a handful of monographic books – Chris Killip and Martin Parr had one each – and no dedicated publishers or distributors. Graham had to self-publish A1, but as the first colour book, it had a startling impact on British photography. Uniting the tradition of social documentary with the fresh approach of new colour, A1 – The Great North Road was transformative on photography in the UK and paved the way for a new generation of British colour photographers to emerge, from Nick Waplington to Anna Fox, Richard Billingham to Tom Wood.

Spanning the full length of England and into Edinburgh, Graham travelled repeatedly along the ‘Great North Road’ with a large format camera, to record the people, buildings, and landscape of early 1980’s Britain. Now 40 years old, this book is as much art as it is a historical document of the years of Margaret Thatcher’s government and the UK’s declining industrial base.

Graham went on to complete Beyond Caring (1985) and Troubled Land (1986), both of which became iconic bodies of work. Originally self-published and now rare, Graham’s 1980’s trilogy of books will be re-published over the coming years by MACK, ending with a limited edition box set of all 3 volumes.

“Graham uses the camera to expose the things we overlook. They are right there in front of all of us, yet we carry on with our own lives trying to make the world conform to our idea of it. Graham’s pictures force us to open our eyes. He slashes through the every day and in doing so lets in a little metaphorical ray of light to illuminate the subject.” – Phil Coombs, The BBC

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Mack Books

Mack is a global publisher of award-winning books on art, photography and critical studies. Founded by Michael Mack in London 2010. They work with established and emerging artists, writers and curators, as well as cultural institutions.