From the Pope to a Flat White. Ireland 1979-2019
Martin Parr has been taking photographs in Ireland for 40 years. His work covers many of the most significant moments in Ireland’s recent history, encompassing the Pope’s visit in 1979 when a third of the country’s population attended Mass in Knock and Phoenix Park in Dublin, as well as gay weddings and start-up companies in 2019. It is difficult to think of a country that has changed so dramatically in this relatively short space of time.
Parr lived in the West of Ireland between 1980-82. He photographed traditional aspects of rural life such as horse fairs and dances, but also looked at the first hint of Ireland’s new wealth in the shape of the bungalows that were springing up everywhere, replacing more traditional dwellings. During subsequent trips to Ireland, he explored the new estates around Dublin and the introduction of the first drive-through McDonald’s. Parr also looked at the North and documented how, after the Good Friday agreement, the Troubles became the focus of a new tourist boom. The final chapter portrays a contemporary Dublin where start-up companies are thriving, the docks area is being gentrified, and where icons of wealth and modernity – such as the flat white – can be everywhere. Ireland has also now voted to allow both abortion and gay weddings, developments that would have been unthinkable 40 years ago.
Next year will see a series of exhibitions held across Ireland presenting this body of work, organized in association with Northern Narratives.
About the Author
Martin Parr was born in Epsom, Surrey, UK, in 1952. When he was a boy, his budding interest in the medium of photography was encouraged by his grandfather George Parr, himself a keen amateur photographer. He studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic, from 1970 to 1973.
Since that time, Martin Parr has worked on numerous photographic projects. He has developed an international reputation for his innovative imagery, his oblique approach to social documentary, and his input to photographic culture within the UK and abroad.
In 1994 he became a full member of Magnum Photographic Cooperative.
Parr developed an interest in filmmaking and has started to use his photography within different genres, such as fashion and advertising. In 2002 the Barbican Art Gallery and the National Media Museum initiated a large retrospective of Martin Parr’s work. This exhibition toured Europe for the next 5 years. He was a Professor of Photography at The University of Wales Newport campus from 2004 to 2012. He was Guest Artistic Director for Rencontres D’Arles in 2004.
In 2006 Parr was awarded the Erich Salomon Prize and the resulting Assorted Cocktail show opened at Photokina.
In 2008 Martin Parr was guest curator at New York Photo Festival, curating the New Typologies exhibition.
Parrworld opened at Haus de Kunst, Munich, in 2008. The show exhibited Parr’s own collection of objects, postcards, photography prints by both British and International photographers, photo books, and a new project from Parr entitled Luxury. The exhibition toured Europe for the following 2 years. At PhotoEspana, 2008, he won the Baume et Mercier award in recognition of his professional career and contributions to contemporary photography.
Parr curated the Brighton Photo Biennial in October 2010.
In 2013, Parr was appointed visiting Professor of Photography at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.
In Spring 2015 Aperture published The Chinese Photobook, a book about the history of Chinese photo books that Parr collaborated with Wassinklundgren on.
In March 2016 Strange and Familiar, curated by Parr, opened at the Barbican, London. The show examines how international photographers from the 1930s onwards have photographed in the UK.
Martin was awarded the Sony World Photography Award for Outstanding Contribution to Photography in April 2017.
Between 2013 – 2017 Martin was president of Magnum Photos.
In Autumn 2017 the Martin Parr Foundation opened in Bristol.
In March 2019, Only Human opened at the National Portrait Gallery, London. The exhibition included portraits from around the world, with a special focus on Britishness, explored through a series of projects that investigated British identity.
Martin Parr has published over 120 books of his own work and edited another 30.
