Review of the Year 2016: photographer Martin Parr

Our eighth profile for Review of the Year is with photographer Martin Parr – here he reflects on highlights of 2016 and ponders what makes a great year.

Ask even your least arty friend to name one British photographer and they will surely name Martin Parr. For the rest of us, Martin is a stalwart creator of raw honest photography that countless budding artists have tried to emulate. He’s spent the last four decades building his reputation for capturing character and scene in typical British life, and had many notable years, but this one particularly stood out – enough for us to finally champion his work in Review of the Year.

Firstly at the start of 2016, he was subject to a major retrospective exhibition at the Hepworth Wakefield, which, with over 300 images, was the largest UK show of his work since his 2002 retrospective at the Barbican. There he showed shots dating back to the 70s alongside a recent series Rhubarb Triangle documenting the rhubarb fields in the West Yorkshire countryside.

Then in April, Phaidon released Real Food, a book of 200 photographs spanning 25 years, collated under one theme: food. Not so glorious as they are garish and at times gross, the saturated shots portray cuisine in a fashion only Martin can accomplish.

Here the photographer gives us insight to his year, from his point of view, in a Q&A as to-the-point as the man himself.

What was your creative highlight of 2016?

Shooting The Season, Grand National, Derby, and Henley, for example.

What was your lowlight of 2016?

Brexit.

What do you think are the markers of a good year creatively?

Good photos, although difficult to achieve.

Which piece of work from the last year has been your favourite to work on?

The Season and Oxford University.

How has your work evolved over the last 12 months? What’s been the most important thing you’ve learnt in the last year?

I am exploring the tele photo lens, so that is exciting.

Who has been the most influential creative for you in the last year?

I loved the film Victoria. The one long take was stunning.

What are your hopes for 2017?

That Donald Trump won’t be as bad as we all think he will be!

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