He made the mundane magnificent': Martin Parr could make a chip shop as mighty as a cathedral

"Unbothered by glitz and glamour, for more than five decades Parr purposefully pursued the most boring things he could find he was unapologetic about the excitement he saw in a perfect cup of tea, a plate of beans on toast, or a woman filling up her car at a petrol station. He also knew that, with time, these supposedly dull things would become interesting."

"He understood that the fluorescent glow of a chip shop could be as revealing as a cathedral; that the colour of a plastic beach bucket could anchor the entire mood of a nation; that the way a stranger holds a sandwich or an ice-cream speaks of class, of longing, of place, of the small stories that batter or buoy us daily."

Martin Parr pursued mundane subjects for more than five decades, finding excitement in a cup of tea, beans on toast, or a woman filling up her car at a petrol station. He deliberately photographed everyday British life with saturated colours and surprising compositions, making the mundane feel magnificent. He captured unexpected, unchoreographed interruptions that reveal the unpolished truth of ordinary moments. He recognized that the fluorescent glow of a chip shop could be as revealing as a cathedral and that small details—a plastic beach bucket, the way someone holds a sandwich—speak of class, longing, place, and collective mood.

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