Rankin - photographer.

I like what I see with Rankin, there is a pugnacious, no messing quality about him. A few years ago both his parents died within a few weeks of each other. This led him to think more about his own life, and mortality. The consequence is a rather thoughtful and provocative exhibition currently being held at Liverpool's Walker Gallery entitled Alive: Rankin Faces Death. All this was well explored on BBC2 the other night. He talked to and photographed a number of people with serious life threatening illnesses. As you get to know the subjects better, there is a real poignancy in their stories. The courage that many show is the face of death is inspiring. On a similar theme in today's Times there is an article by David Aaronovitch about the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP). Finding dignity in dying is not something we think sufficiently about, and he suggests we do more of it. The hospice movement has helped us all in this regard. A useful pressure group seeking to deal with these issues is www.dyingmatters.org