Justin Quail has schizophrenia. Big Brother is his younger brother Louis’ account of his recent life, one lived on the periphery of society. This project and recently published book says to the world: ‘This is my brother. I would like you to see him.’
SINCE THE death of their parents, Louis Quail and his siblings have assumed the role of intermediaries between his brother Justin and those who would prefer not to notice people like him. Many would rather Justin was less visible; that he be taken care of by others, by ‘the system’. But that system inevitably has gaps and failures.
The family split when Quail was five, and he grew up in Norfolk with his father while Justin, his senior by eight years, stayed with their mother. As a result, Louis’ early memories of Justin are somewhat intermittent. But by all accounts Justin’s adolescence was messy and untethered.
By the age of 20, he’d been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and Big Brother chronicles the past eight years of Justin’s life. “This project has brought me closer to Justin than I have ever been,” says Quail. “I didn’t start it before, as I don’t think that I had the confidence, or the legitimacy. But now I’m inclined to believe that being ignored is worse than being intruded upon. I felt Justin really needed to be photographed, because he’s really on the lowest ladder of society due to this illness. I wanted to explain to people what it’s like.”
Quail began photographing professionally soon after graduating from Brighton University, although he studied graphic design and illustration. “As a kid, I had a little camera,” he recalls. “You read about how photographers were passionate when they were young, how their mother bought them a little Box Brownie, and away they went. I had a really, really awful Instamatic camera. I would have been 13 and shooting my family on it and I still have those photographs. It made almost shrunken, tiny pieces of film and the picture quality was awful.”
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 22-Ausgabe von Professional Photography.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 22-Ausgabe von Professional Photography.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Beauty And The Banal
Head of photographs Phil Prodger explains how William Eggleston used colour experimentally as the National Portrait Gallery opens the largest display of his portrait photography ever seen.
The Art Of The Incomplete
Amélie Labourdette’s work documents eerie, grey skeletons of unfinished buildings. Her images are a comment on how we inhabit the world, but they’ve also become pieces of art in their own right – and a hint at what might happen to us all in the future.
The Photographer's Guide to SEO
Discover how to get your photography website high in Google’s rankings
The Royal Treatment
Press photographer and agency head Joe Sene discusses the challenge of capturing iconic news moments, and how switching to Olympus has been a true game changer for him
Joanna Millington
The Norwich-based photographer is on a mission to revive the art of the traditional portrait in the age of the throwaway selfie
World Press Photo 2018 Gallery
In the world of 2018, photojournalism is more important than ever. From the aftermath of an ISIS car bomb to delicate meditations on our relationship with the planet, the annual World Press Photo of the Year contest celebrates and honours the industry’s finest. We present a selection of our favourite images from among this year’s winners.
Modern-day Daguerreotypes
Jerry Spagnoli has resurrected one of the oldest mediums in photography and adapted it to suit a contemporary clientele. Now museums are starting to pay attention
Something Really Wonderful Is Going On
A seagull is suspended, sunlit and spread-winged against a lowering sky. Men unknown to each other march together as if advancing on an unseen enemy. A woman with polished shoes searches through a large, pale handbag. Young girls in matching dresses look to be fleeing impending disaster. Eamonn Doyle shows us fragments of moments in a world of uncertainty and human frailty, with a unique and potentially devastating voice. A relative newcomer to the world of photobooks and photography galleries, he has become a powerful force in the art photography world since 2012.
Share Your Photography, Support A Charity
A new photography competition for positive social change.
“With no whipped cream available, we ended up using mentholated shaving foam. Oh, does that sting the eyes!”
“With no whipped cream available, we ended up using mentholated shaving foam. Oh, does that sting the eyes!”
