Saturday 30 January 2010
I love Martin Parr's photographs. They are accessible, funny but always leave you thinking. Just before Christmas I went to the massive Parrworld exhibition at the Baltic in Gateshead which combined Parr's new portfolio Luxury with artifacts from his eccentric collection of postcards, photography books, prints and ephemera.
As well Nazi Christmas decorations and Skegness At Night postcards, Martin Parr's films Think of England and It's Nice Up North were also on show. There's never time at a gallery to sit through full-length videos so I bought both films on DVD and got round to watching them last night.
It's Nice Up North is a vehicle for Graham Fellows' alter-ego John Shuttleworth and charts the versatile Sheffield singer-songwriter's trip to the Shetland Islands to test his theory that people are nicer the further north you go in the UK. This clip is from early on and sets the tone for what follows.
None of Think of England is on YouTube but Martin Parr's website has three excellent clips. It's a state of the nation essay made in 1999 for the BBC's lamented Modern Times strand. Parr turns his camera on village fete cake contests, seaside resort boozers and people picnicking at service stations creating imagery that's often like David Lynch on a English coach trip. It's a brilliant and entertaining combination of the satirical edge that's in a lot of Parr's photos and a more sober look at attitudes about Englishness.
In It's Nice Up North Shuttleworth occasionally complains about Martin's "arty" shots. I'd say both films are works of art - but the kind that also makes perfect Friday night viewing.
Buy the DVDs
Thing of England & Martin Parr Short films - Mosaic Films
It's Nice Up North - Amazon
Related Links
Martin Parr - official site
John Shuttleworth - official site
Think of England - short essay on the BFI website
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