New Brighton, from ‘The Last Resort’, 1983-85 Martin Parr

Closed

15.5 – 9.6 2018

Martin Parr:Early Work, 1971-1986

3–5 Swallow St

Martin Parr:Early Work, 1971-1986

15.05 – 09.06.2018

Closed

Hours

Monday to Saturday

10:00 am – 5:30 pm

Gallery

3–5 Swallow St
London
W1B 4DE

An exhibition showcasing early works by Martin Parr at Huxley-Parlour Gallery. In association with Rocket Gallery, the exhibition at Huxley-Parlour Gallery includes over 30 prints, with works on show taken from Parr’s early series, The Non-Conformists, Bad Weather, Beauty Spots, A Fair Day and his first colour series The Last Resort: Photographs of New Brighton. The exhibition also includes a selection of rare, vintage prints.

Surrey Bird Club, Surrey, 1972 Martin Parr
2

Surrey Bird Club, Surrey, 1972. Martin Parr

This exhibition explores the roots of Parr’s artistic output, by displaying works from the first fifteen years of Parr’s career, predominantly lesser-known works produced in black and white. The bodies of work featured in the exhibition were made by Parr between 1971 and 1986. The exhibition will highlight the photographer’s transition from shooting in black and white in rural Northern England, to his seminal series The Last Resort, taken with colour film in the mid 1980s. This exhibition provides a unique opportunity to see a selection of early works that showcase Parr’s characteristic wry humour and eye for well-composed, dynamic composition.

Highlights included in the exhibition are Parr’s first ever colour photograph, taken in 1971, and works from his first series, made in Hebden Bridge in the years immediately following Parr’s graduation for Manchester Polytechnic. These photograph capture a traditional community whose way of life, focused around farming, industry and the church, was in decline. Also included in the exhibition are works from Parr’s series, The Last Resort: Photographs of New Brighton. This was Parr’s first project to show a move towards his now distinct personal style, combining bright colours and daylight flash.

The Works

29

1

Martin Parr

Lunch for a Couple, Ramsgate, Kent, from ‘Home and Abroad’

1986

Archival pigment print, printed later

2

Martin Parr

Ramsgate, Kent

1986

Archival pigment print, printed later

3

Martin Parr

Margate, Kent

1986

Archival pigment print, printed later

4

Martin Parr

Untitled (New Brighton), from ‘The Last Resort’

1983-1985

Archival pigment print, printed later

5

Martin Parr

New Brighton, from ‘The Last Resort’

1983-85

Archival pigment print, printed later

6

Martin Parr

New Brighton, from ‘The Last Resort’

1983-85

Archival pigment print, printed later

7

Martin Parr

Untitled (New Brighton), from ‘The Last Resort’

1983-1985

Archival pigment print, printed later

8

Martin Parr

New Brighton, from ‘The Last Resort’

1983-85

Archival pigment print, printed later

9

Martin Parr

New Brighton, from ‘The Last Resort’

1983-85

Archival pigment print, printed later

10

Martin Parr

Steep Lane Baptist Chapel, West Yorkshire

1977

Silver gelatin print, printed later

11

Martin Parr

Crimsworth Dean Methodist Chapel, West Yorkshire

1975

Silver gelatin print, printed later

12

Martin Parr

Steep Lane Baptist Church Buffet Lunch, Calderdale, Halifax, West Yorkshire

1976

Silver gelatin print, printed later

13

Martin Parr

Manchester

1971

Archival pigment print, printed later

14

Martin Parr

Untitled, from ‘Butlins by the Sea’

1972

Silver gelatin print, printed later

15

Martin Parr

Jubilee Street Party, Elland, Yorkshire

1977

Silver gelatin print, printed later

16

Martin Parr

Mr and Mrs Connolley Practise Dancing in the Otherwise Unused Booth Chapel Sunday School, Booth, West Yorkshire

1976

Silver gelatin print, printed later

17

Martin Parr

Surrey Bird Club, Surrey

1972

Silver gelatin print, printed later

18

Martin Parr

Stratford Upon Avon

1974

Silver gelatin print, printed later

19

Martin Parr

Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, England

1977

Silver gelatin print, printed later

20

Martin Parr

Wallasey Carnival, Wallasey, 1983

1983-1985

Archival pigment print, printed later

21

Martin Parr

Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, from ‘Bad Weather’, March

1980

Silver gelatin print, printed later

22

Martin Parr

Abandoned Morris Minors, Arigna, County Roscommon, from ‘A Fair Day’

1980-1983

Silver gelatin print, printed later

23

Martin Parr

Rosses Point, County Sligo, from ‘A Fair Day’

1983

Silver gelatin print, printed later

24

Martin Parr

Glenbeigh Races, County Kerry, Ireland

1983

Silver gelatin print, printed later

25

Martin Parr

North Yorkshire, Harrogate, Brimham Rocks

1974

Silver gelatin print, printed later

26

Martin Parr

De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-On-Sea, East Sussex

1978

Silver gelatin print, printed later

27

Martin Parr

Glastonbury Tor, Somerset, from ‘Beauty Spots’

1975

Silver gelatin print, printed later

28

Martin Parr

Boulderclough Methodist Chapel, Anniversary Tea, Calderdale, from ‘The Non-Conformists’

1978

Silver gelatin print, printed later

29

Martin Parr

Mayor of Todmorden’s Inaugural Banquet, Calderdale

1976

Silver gelatin print, printed later

Martin Parr

B. United Kingdom 1952

martin-parr-portrait

B. United Kingdom 1952

Biography

Martin Parr’s distinctive style of photography captures the oddities and humours of everyday British life through a vibrantly coloured, hyper-realistic lens. At the beginning of the 1980s Parr’s work aimed to mirror the lifestyle of ordinary British people, reflecting the social decline and distress of the working class during the era of Margaret Thatcher. He earned an international reputation for his oblique approach to social documentary, and for innovative imagery. The Last Resort: Photographs of New Brighton (1986) was Parr’s first project to show a move towards his now distinct personal style: bright colours and vivid images, gaining him the reputation as a renowned satirical photojournalist. Other of Parr’s series include Bad Weather (1982), Common Sense (1995-99), and Signs of the Times (1992).

Parr was born in Surrey in 1952, later studying Photography at Manchester Polytechnic. He has exhibited his work globally since 1974, including exhibitions at The National Portrait Gallery and The Photographer’s Gallery, London, The National Centre of Photography, Paris and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan. Parr is prolific in his output and has published over a hundred books of his own work. He has won many awards throughout his career including the Royal Photographic Society’s Centenary Award, Photokina’s Eric Solomon Award for photojournalism and in 2017, Sony World Photography Award for Outstanding Contribution to Photography. Parr was the president of Magnum Photos between 2013 – 2017, and remains one of the country’s most popular photojournalists, contributing to a wide range of printed media. Parr founded the Martin Parr Foundation in 2014, opening its premises in Bristol in 2017. The Foundation holds Parr’s own archive, and is a centre for talks, screenings and events. 

He lives and works in Bristol.

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