The world-acclaimed photographer Martin Parr is invited by Galerie Paris-Beijing for his first solo exhibition in China this autumn.

An active member of the prestigious Magnum photo agency since 1994, Parr is Britain’s foremost contemporary photographer, taking photographs for thirty-five years. His retrospective in China will immerse the spectator into Parr’s imagination through a selection of 300 photographs from the renowned series Common Sense, Last Resort, Small World, Luxury and Bored Couples. Martin Parr has been the first one to show the transition from the industrial economy to a market oriented society, taking a critical stance on consumerism and globalization.

Items of consumption, as food or various accessories are his favorite targets. The garish colors, unusual composition and sometimes grotesque subjects serve to stress our absurd lifestyles in an unconventional approach which remains an instantly recognizable visual style, a unique blend of “British humor” and satire. His eccentric perspective is at work indifferently on the oiled bodies of tourists in Brazilian beaches, on the super sized ice-creams of dingy American motels and on the extravagant hats of VIP party goers.

His attention to unnoticed details, even in cultural differences and idiosyncrasies, leads us to ask ourselves questions about what we value, what we desire and how we live while producing an intense visual experience that prompts us to look at people and items of everyday life in a completely different way.

Furthermore, Parr is known as a filmmaker and a collector of miscellaneous objects. His film Think of England and a selection of his self portraits will be shown in the gallery’s projection room.

Martin Parr’s work has been exhibited in countless museums, including the MOMA of New York, Tate Britain in London, Jeu de Paume in Paris… and his photographs are part of important public and private collections.