Martin Parr

Born in 1952, Martin Parr has been a member of the Magnum Agency since 1994. After studying photography at Manchester Polytechnic, he became interested in documentary photography very early on, through the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

A keen observer of Western society, Martin Parr comically denounces the excesses of mass tourism, the international jet set and the boredom that seems to emanate from it. His acute and sometimes ironic gaze focuses on little everyday events, from family reunions to sunbathing on British beaches, peri-urban zones to the consumerism of shopping centres.

He has published over 70 books on his work and has collaborated on over 30 titles on photography including The Photobook: A History and, more recently, Life's a Beach, Martin Parr Paris, and Autoportrait by Éditions Xavier Barral. A great collector of postcards, photobooks and absurd objects, he revealed the twists and turns of his world during his touring exhibition “Planète Parr", presented in Paris at the Jeu de Paume in 2009. He has received prestigious prizes, including that of the Royal Photographic Society and the Erich Salomon Prize (photojournalism).