Current Exhibition
Martin Parr’s “Return to Manchester”
Manchester Art Gallery presents Martin Parr’s career-spanning works that depict how the lives of Mancunians have changed but also a continuity in how their lives are lived
Martin Parr’s long-term fascination with the subjects of leisure, consumption and communication have sealed his status as a world-renowned photographer whose colorful images depict the times we live in today. After moving from his hometown of Surrey, he studied at Manchester Polytechnic (now Manchester Metropolitan University) in Manchester from 1970-73, where the diversity of the city inspired him to begin examining national characteristics. Since then, Martin has revisited Manchester numerous times over the last 40 years to document the lives of Mancunians. This exhibition brings together a selection of photographs from his many visits to the city: black and white images of June Street, Salford in 1972; Yates Wine Lodges in 1982-3; color photos of people shopping in 1986 and 2008.
"I remember so well arriving into Manchester in 1970, having traveled from the safety of suburban Surrey. It was exciting and felt very real. "
- Martin Parr
Manchester Art Gallery commissioned Martin to make a new body of work on Manchester City and its inhabitants in 2018. The photographs were produced during a number of visits where Parr assimilated himself in the city’s culture through a diverse range of meetings with people doing everyday activities: shopping, in hairdressers, in Mosques, in cafes, at markets, in factories, at parties, playing sport and in the gay village. His observations extended to capturing scientists doing ground-breaking research at Manchester University, and fans of the city’s world-famous football teams. A number of these images will enter the gallery’s collection.
More information here.
