Naples | Martin Parr

Not the best time of year to visit the Amalfi Coast, perhaps, so why not stay in town (Naples, naturally), wander down to the Riviera di Chiaia, and see what Martin Parr made of it at the height of summer? In a solo exhibition, the great British photographer takes a pitilessly close look at tourists and how they choose to grace some of Campania’s iconic destinations. Ever a trenchant if ironic critic of the consumer society and the models it engenders, Martin Parr’s shots zoom in on familiar scenes with wry humour, brassy colour and original perspectives and reveal a different slant on how we live and behave socially. This project, unambiguously entitled The Amalfi Coast, is no exception.

Parr needs little introduction to anyone familiar with the world of photography, but here’s a little one anyway, just because it’s so impressive. His research revolves around the themes of leisure, communication, consumerism. His photos have been exhibited constantly since 1972 in venues which include most if not all of the planet’s prestigious modern art institutions. He willfully mixes up the genres of art, journalism and advertising. Weski has also called him ‘a chronicler of our age’. And this year saw him unanimously elected President of Magnum Photos International, of which he’s been a member for the last 30 years. The Amalfi Coast project was commissioned by Laura Trisorio of the now almost legendary contemporary art gallery Studio Trisorio, and that is where you’ll find the show until the end of February 2015. Thanks to Carla Celestino, my man in Naples, for another priceless tip-off.

Martin Parr sensitises our subconscious

Thomas Weski