John Wilson talks to photographer Martin Parr about the formative influences and experiences that inspired his own creativity. Globally renowned for his witty and satirical scenes of British life, Parr made his name in the 1970s with a series of monochrome photographs documenting the community of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. His fame grew with his 1985 project The Last Resort, which captured the spirit of the great British holiday in images of ice-cream, chips, and sunburnt bodies on the litter-strewn concrete promenade of New Brighton, Liverpool. Since then, his instantly recognisable work has examined subjects including global consumerism, mass tourism and class. He has published over a hundred books of his work, exhibited all round the world, and is regarded as one of Britain’s greatest photographers. Parr is celebrated as Master Of Photography at the 2023 Photo London fair, and has recently opened his own Foundation to exhibit the work of emerging photographers alongside his own.

Martin Parr reveals how, growing up in suburban Surrey, he was introduced to photography by his Yorkshire grandfather during holiday visits. He remembers seeing exhibitions by Bill Brandt and Henri Cartier-Bresson in the late 1960s, but it was the work of British street photographer Tony Ray-Jones, whose images he first saw whilst studying photography at Manchester Polytechnic, that was most influential. Martin Parr further developed his distinctive documentary style, and his use of saturated colour processing techniques, after seeing work by American photographer William Egglestone. Martin Parr also chooses the 1991 film Night On Earth by Jim Jarmusch as a key influence on his quirky approach to storytelling, and reflects on how his style and subjects have developed over the years.

Producer: Edwina Pitman