I took myself along to the Martin Parr: Only Human exhibition, in April 2019. I had never experienced a photography exhibition and knew nothing about Martin Parr either. I had simply looked on google to see what exhibitions were running in London.
I didn't know what to expect, how long I would spend at the exhibition or what type of photography I would see.
From the moment I walked in I was pleasantly surprised. Parr's photos were full of colour and the way the exhibition had been laid out was aesthetically pleasing to the eye and in a very modern way.
Martin Parr, a British photographer and photojournalist, born in 1952, is known world wide for his work. Famous for his more intimate, sarcastic and individual style, Parr looks at aspects of modern life and documents the social classes of England in the majority of his work.
Only Human focused on people and Parr's warped observations of Britishness and British identity along with portraits of people from around the world. Only Human expressed how Parr looks for situations that we as everyday people may find boring and tend to overlook. Parr shows us that if you look hard enough and open your eyes to your surroundings you will see the unusual and intriguing.
The above collection, 'Autoportraits', was the first series to be seen as I walked into the exhibition. I feel it was a good introduction to the exhibition. It introduced Parr and gave the impression that he has a sense of humour and light heartedness about him. It was welcoming and interesting to look at the collection of self portraits.
'Everybody Dance Now' caught my eye as I have a background in dance. I enjoyed looking at the different genres and communities captured.
'Beside the Seaside' brought a sense of nostalgia of family days at the beach. I also liked the added touch of the deck chairs with Parr's images on them. This brought the exhibition down away from the walls and made it a more of an immersive experience. There were other immersive parts tp the exhibition like this, along with a typically British cafe that you could go and get food from.
'Oneness' moves away from photographs and into film. A single TV screen on a blank wall with one long bench in front of it played Parr's series of short idents that were made for the BBC of organisations and clubs across the UK. They are still played on the BBC in between programmes today.
Each series of photos had its own room type area where they were displayed. They each had their own theme and colour. Above, you can see how 'The Establishment' was displayed in keeping with the theme of the photos in the series. Clean cut and classy to echo the class of people that has been photographed.
The bright colours seen in Parr's work were inspired by American Photographers William Eggleston and Stephen Shore, resulting in the popping colours seen in the Only Human exhibition and Parr's work today.
Having spent about two hours at the exhibition, I came away having thoroughly enjoyed myself. The whole experience was engaging and felt immersive. The information on the walls next to each series was interesting and each image was unique. For my first experience of a photography exhibition, this Only Human was a good choice.