17 ottobre 2009 - 10 gennaio 2010, Gateshead (UK)
BALTIC presents the only UK showing of Parrworld by the highly regarded and influential British photographer Martin Parr. The show will be presented over two floors; the first containing Luxury, a collection of over 40 recent works by Parr with the second floor housing more than 150 prints from some of the world’s most famous and significant photographers and photographic books and a range of objects from Parr’s personal collection. Parr is known for his satirical documentation of British contemporary life; capturing a range of social demographics he offers a colourful social panorama of Britain today unmasking the banal and the offbeat with his wry look at class and wealth. Many of his images appear exaggerated and yet they are inventive and often humorous using colour and motif to great effect. For more than 30 years, Parr has been documenting society and everyday culture initially in Britian and Ireland but later across the world, taking in global phenomena such as mass tourism, consumerism, social and cultural events. For his new series Luxury, Parr shows the different ways in which people display their wealth. Choosing various locations across the world, and a range of situations including art fairs and race courses, including Newcastle’s premier horse racing event The Northumbrian Plate, he has selected scenarios in which people are comfortable showing off their wealth. Designer clothes, champagne and parties are all part of this repertoire. As well as the more established wealth hot spots in Europe and America, there are photographs from the emerging world, for example showing the Millionaires’ Fair in Moscow, the Dubai Art Fair and the Motor Show in Beijing. At such events the international jet-set can be observed as they proudly present the regalia of new money and opulence The notion of collecting is fundamental to Parrworld as we are presented with not only Parr’s own photography but also a remarkable selection of photographic works from internationally recognised artists, books taken from his several-thousand strong library and a collection of personal items collected from his international and UK travels. […] This exhibition is organized by Haus der Kunst, Munich in association with the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. Info: tel +44 (0)191 478 1810 e-mail: info@balticmill.com - www.balticmill.com