In 1986, the photographer Martin Parr published a book that would define him in the public mind for the rest of his career. Parr, who has died aged 73, was then living in Wallasey, Merseyside. His photographs, of the nearby resort of New Brighton, showed northerners at play: men in cloth caps eating chips with their fingers; women sitting on buckets; children eyeing virulent ice creams; rubbish blowing under leaden skies. The book in which these appeared was called The Last Resort. It would propel Parr to fame, if not, at first, to popularity.
Shown in an exhibition in Liverpool, the images in The Last Resort initially met with a positive reception. When the show transferred to the Serpentine Gallery in London, however, there was outcry. “Our historic working class becomes a sitting duck for a more sophisticated audience,” fumed one London critic. “They appear fat, simple, styleless, tediously conformist, wear cheap flashy clothes and in true conservative fashion are resigned to their meagre lot.” There was much more in this vein.
