Martin Parr was born in Epsom, Surrey. As a boy, his interest in photography was encouraged by his grandfather, himself a keen amateur photographer. Parr studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic from 1970 to 1973. To support his career as a freelance photographer he took on various teaching assignments. At the beginning of the 1980’s his work aimed to mirror the lifestyle of ordinary British people, reflecting the social decline and distress of the working class in during the Thatcher years. He earned an international reputation for his oblique approach to social documentary and for innovative imagery. In 1994 he became a member of the prestigious Magnum. in 2002 Phaidon published the Martin Parr monograph and in 2004 he was appointed Professor of Photography at the university of Wales and was guest creative director for Recontres d’Arles in the same year. Martin Parr’s latest exhibition, Parrworld can be viewed at Haus Der Kunst in Munich from the 7th May – 17th Aug.

He remains in Britain