Chris Steele-Perkins
Biography
British, b. Burma 1947
Chris Steele-Perkins moved to England with his father at the age of two. He went to school at Christ's Hospital. At the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he studied psychology and worked for the student newspaper, graduating with honours in 1970 when he started working as a freelance photographer, moving to London in 1971. Apart from a trip to Bangladesh in 1973, he worked mainly in Britain in areas concerned with urban poverty and sub-cultures. In 1975 he worked with EXIT, a collective dealing with social problems in British cities. This work culminated in the book Survival Programmes in 1982. He joined the Paris-based Viva agency in 1976. In 1979, he published his first solo book, The Teds. He also edited, and purchased the images for, The Arts Council of GB’s book, About 70 Photographs.
Steele-Perkins joined Magnum in 1979 and soon began working extensively in the developing world, in particular Africa, Central America and Lebanon, as well as continuing to document Britain. He published, The Pleasure Principle, a work exploring Britain in the 80's. In 1992 he published Afghanistan, the result of four trips over four years. After marrying his second wife, Miyako Yamada, he embarked on a long term photographic exploration of Japan, publishing his first book of that work, Fuji, in 2000. A highly personal diary of 2001, Echoes, was published in 2003, and the second of his Japanese books, Tokyo Love Hello, was published in February 2007. In contrast, a black and white study of English rural life, Northern Exposures, was published in summer 2007.
Two sons; Cedric Steele-Perkins, dob 16/11/90; Cameron Steele-Perkins, dob 18/6/92
Married to Miyako Yamada, (Japanese) 17/7/99
Member, Magnum Photos 1982
President, Magnum Photos 1997 - 99
Selected exhibitions:
1990 'The Pleasure Principle', FNAC, Paris
1992 'Africa, work in progress', Perpignan, France
1993 'Cross-section', Hong Kong Festival
1999 Grp. 'Robert Capa Gold Medal Winners Exhibition', Touring Japan
1999 'Nomansland', Photo Gallery International, Tokyo
1999 'Afghanistan', Perpignan Festival, France
2000 'Afghanistan', Ffotogallery, Cardiff
2000 'Afghanistan', Side Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
2002 'Mt. Fuji', MAC (Midlands Arts Centre), Birmingham (further venues at Gainsborough's House; Impressions Gallery,York; 2003 Darlington Arts Centre; Pierce Hall Art Gallery, Halifax; National Theatre, London)
2002 Mt Fuji, Grandship, Shizuoka, Japan
2003 Jan, The Teds, 292 Gallery, New York
2004 Jan, The Teds, Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago
2005 Jan, "North, South, East, West" (grp),Science Museum, London
2005 Jan, Coast Exposed (grp) National Maritime Museum, "London
2005 Aug, Echoes, Leica gallery, Tokyo
2005 Sept, Eurovisions, (grp) Beaubourg, Paris
2007 July, Northern Exposures, Northumbria University Gallery.
2007 Grp. Tokyo, Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo.
Collections:
Arts Council of Great Britain
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Photographers' Gallery, London
Side Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
Corcoran Gallery, Washington
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia
Bibliotheque National, Paris
FNAC, Paris
Tokyo Fuji Art Museum
National Portrait Gallery, London
National Museum of Film, Photography and Television, Bradford
Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin
Awards:
1988 'Oskar Barnak Award', World Press, Holland
'Tom Hopkinson Award', Photographers' Gallery, London
1989 'Robert Capa Gold Medal', ICP, New York
1990 'Gahan Lectureship', Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (unable to accept)
1994 'Cooperative Society Award' & 'One World Award', for the film Dying for Publicity
1994 'La Nacion Premier Photojournalism Award'
1999 Sasakawa Foundation grant
2000 Visiting Professor, Musashino Art University, Tokyo
2000 World Press Award, 'Daily Life'
2004 Sasakawa Foundation grant
2008 Royal Photographic Society Terrence Donovan Award
Partial Bibliography:
The Teds, 1979
About 70 Photographs, (editor) 1980
La Grèce au Présent, (group)1981
Survival Programmes: In Britain's Inner Cities (with Nicholas Battye and Paul Trevor), 1982
Beirut: Front-line Story, 1983
The Pleasure Principle, 1989
St. Thomas Hospital, 1992
Afghanistan, Marvel, May 2000/ Westzone 2001/Shobunsha Japan 2001
Fuji, Umbrage, 2002
The Teds, (reprint) Dewi Lewis 2003
Echoes, Trolley, 2004
Tokyo Love Hello, Editions Intervalles, 2007
Northern Exposures, Northumbria University Press, 2007