Martin Parr forces us to confront the mundane in the grotesque. His photographs depict everyday people—a shellshocked young waiter, an overweight, elderly woman in a bikini on the beach—caught off guard. Tired, exposed, and vulnerable, his subjects are the carnival workers dining at the Plaza, the denizens of the garish English seaside. (His book The Last Resort: Photographs of New Brighton thrust him onto the photography scene in 1985.) Parr chronicles what we'd rather choose not to see.
His photographs express a satirical commentary on the everyday images we disregard—the food on our plate and the children in our neighborhood—and connect us to submerged memories of first dates and elementary school gym classes—awkward, uncomfortable feelings we barricade in the past.
"Strange Paradise," an exhibition of Parr's photographs, will be shown from July 2 through August 27 at the the harts gallery in New Milford, Connecticut. An opening reception will be held on July 9, from 5 to 8 pm.
