Martin Parr

Martin Parr was born on the 23 May 1952. He is a British documentary photographer and photojournalist. He is known for his photographic projects that take a critical look at aspects of modern life, in particular provincial and suburban life in England. 

Born in Epsom, Surrey, Parr wanted to become a documentary photographer from the age of fourteen, and followed in the footsteps of his grandfather who was an amateur photographer and was an early influence. From 1970 to 1973, he studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic. He married Susan Mitchell in 1980, and they have one child, Ellen Parr (born 1986). He has lived in Bristol since 1987.

He was first recognised for his black-and-white photography in the north of England, Bad Weather (1982) and A Fair Day (1984), but switched to colour photography in 1984. The resulting work, The Last Resort: Photographs of New Brighton, was published in 1986.

Since 1994 Parr has had almost 50 books published, and featured in around 80 exhibitions worldwide - including an exhibition at the Barbican Arts Centre, London. In 2007, his retrospective exhibition was selected to be the main show of Month of Photography Asia in Singapore. In 2008, he was made an Honorary Doctor of Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) in recognition for his ongoing contribution to photography and to MMU's School of Art.