Think of England

Magnum photographer Martin Parr’s vision of contemporary England in 100 colour photographs. England has been the key subject of Magnum photographer Martin Parr’s work since he started making pictures. Think of England is a comic, opinionated, affectionately satirical, colour-saturated essay about the character of England. It is composed of new work shot in 1999 along with work shot recently for projects on West Bay, British food, and flowers. Quintessentially English himself, Parr’s great achievement as a photographer is his ability to transform the obvious into the surprising, reinventing cliches of Englishness as provocative revelations. His tour of obvious England takes in seaside resorts, herbaceous borders, the bring and buy stall, cucumber sandwiches and cups of tea, Ascot and the charity shop, blotchy skin, baked beans and bad footwear…Martin’s work has already added to the visual vocabulary of England; this book, his first specifically on the subject of England, stretches it further.