First published in 1996 Small World is one of the most popular and most important of Martin Parr's books. This revised and extended edition includes more than 40 new photographs as well as featuring many of Martin Parr's most iconic images. It is a biting, very funny satire in which Parr looks at tourism worldwide, exposing the increasingly homogenous 'global culture' where in the search for different cultures those same cultures are destroyed. The issues that Parr raised two decades ago when the book was first published are even more relevant today.
Martin Parr was born in Epsom, Surrey, UK in 1952. When he was a boy, his budding interest in the medium of photography was encouraged by his grandfather George Parr, himself a keen amateur photographer.
Parr studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic, from 1970-1973. Since that time, Martin Parr has worked on numerous photographic projects. He has developed an international reputation for his innovative imagery, his oblique approach to social documentary, and his input to photographic culture within the UK and abroad.
In 1994 he became a full member of Magnum Photographic Corporation. In recent years, he has developed an interest in filmmaking, and has started to use his photography within different conventions, such as fashion and advertising.
In 2002 the Barbican Art Gallery and the National Media Museum initiated a large retrospective of Parr's work. This show toured Europe for the next 5 years.
Parr was appointed Professor of Photography in 2004 at The University of Wales Newport campus. He was Guest Artistic Director for Rencontres D'Arles in 2004. In 2006 he was awarded the Erich Salomon Prize and the resulting Assorted Cocktail show opened at Photokina. In 2008 he was guest curator at the New York Photo Festival, curating the New Typologies exhibition. At PhotoEspana, 2008, he won the Baume et Mercier award in recognition of his professional career and contributions to contemporary photography.