#166 CAMERA Book Review: Neil Drabble - Book of Roy
An insight into suburban American adolescents in Neil Drabble's beautiful portraits series 'Book of Roy' published by MACK Books.
From 1998 to 2005 Neil Drabble photographed an American teenager, Roy, as he grew from adolescence to early manhood. On one level this extensive body of work can be viewed as a fascinating document of an always-compelling transition. Closer scrutiny reveals further nuances; a collaboration, a partnership, a personal portrait, and at the same time a universal picture of adolescence.
Drabble chose not to depict significant events that might appear in a family album nor definitive moments associated with documentary photography. Instead, these photographs concentrate on the listless, off-scene periods, the ‘in-between moments’ of everyday life. This focus on the marginal passages of disregarded time situates the viewer at the heart of adolescence, defined as the period between childhood and adulthood, suspended between longing (for the deferred promise of adulthood) and regret (for the loss of childhood as a refuge).
By photographing the same person repeatedly and intimately over their formative years, a sense of mirroring began to emerge, reawakening something of the artist’s own adolescent self, blurring the line between portrait and self-portrait.
Includes texts by Lynne Tillman
Embossed hardback with tipped-in image
22 x 28 cm, 132 pages
October 2019
Neil Drabble (b. 1966, Manchester England) is an artist, academic, curator and publisher living in London.
His work has been featured in numerous publications such as, Vogue, Tatler, The Guardian Weekend, The Observer, The Telegraph Magazine, FT and Numero. He has exhibited Nationally and Internationally, and given lectures about his work at numerous academic institutions including: Chelsea College of Art, Camberwell, College of Art, Bath Spa University, Manchester Metropolitan University/SODA, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, SMFA/Tufts, and Harvard (USA).
Recent publications include Closer (Double Obelus Editions, 2023), Book of Roy (MACK 2019), Into the Woods: trees in Photography (Thames & Hudson, 2019) – this accompanied a large group exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum with photographers including: Ansel Adams, Robert Adams, Paul Strand, Stephen Shore. His work is included in various collections including The V&A Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.
His academic career at various Art & Design HE institutions has included roles from Associate Lecturer to Programme Director.
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