Martin Parr’s Most Influential Work Returns to Bristol in ‘The Last Resort’ Exhibition
Visitors will have the rare opportunity to view the actual Plaubel Makina 67 camera used for the series, alongside original contact sheets and previously unseen photographs.
Summary
- The Martin Parr Foundation commemorates the late photographer’s legacy with a 40th-anniversary exhibition of The Last Resort
- The show features unseen images, contact sheets and Parr’s original camera
- The exhibition will run from February 20 – May 24, 2026
In a moving tribute to the late British photographer Martin Parr, the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol has announced a significant exhibition of his seminal series, The Last Resort.
The show marks the 40th anniversary of both the project’s landmark debut at London’s Serpentine Gallery and its original self-publication in 1986. Considered the definitive body of work that launched Parr’s international career, the series captures the Merseyside seaside resort of New Brighton between 1983 and 1985, providing a raw, satirical and intensely colorful portrait of the British working class at leisure during the Thatcher era.
The exhibition features the full set of 40 iconic photographs, showcasing Parr’s revolutionary use of saturated colors and daylight flash, which at the time signaled a seismic shift from traditional black-and-white documentary photography to a hyperreal, contemporary aesthetic. Notable artworks include the famous shot of a baby playing near arcade machines and the leading image of a bored couple sitting in a restaurant with pastel pink and teal walls. These photographs highlight the “shabby” reality of a crumbling seaside town, where concrete promenades and litter-strewn vistas serve as a backdrop for everyday moments of human persistence and recreation.
Beyond the final prints, the exhibition offers a deep dive into Parr’s creative process by displaying rare archival ephemera, including contact sheets, press invites and original reviews from the 1980s. Visitors can also view the actual Plaubel Makina 67 camera Parr used to achieve the series’ characteristic medium-format detail.
Scheduled to run from February 20 – May 24, 2026, Martin Parr’s The Last Resort exhibition will be on view at the Martin Parr Foundation gallery in Bristol.
Martin Parr Foundation
316 Paintworks
Bristol BS4 3AR
United Kingdom
