Martin Parr's people and places

Martin Parr moved to Bristol a quarter of a century ago but it’s taken him all this time to get a show together in the city. Thankfully, Bristol And West, which opened last night at the M-Shed Gallery (until November 27), is well worth the wait. 

Housed in a converted 1950's goods shed, the show focuses on places, people and life in and around the South West England seaport; including swimmers in the icy waters of the Severn Estuary and a genteel game of bowls on a summer afternoon (remarkably for Britain, the sun is out). Visitors can vote on their favourite photos, the most popular of which will be housed in a permanent collection at M-Shed.

This morning, Phaidon caught up with Parr’s assistant, Harry Watts who told us a bit about the evening. "When we arrived at the space there were already a few hundred people there, all with and glasses of west country cider in their hands. Martin gave a great speech and noted that it was an oddity to have a show so close to home; 'Normally I have to fly long haul and go to another country to see my shows!' he said."

Follow the link to get more insight into Parrworld via this great video of Parr as he talks about his collection of photo-books, memorabilia and other objects.