A Weekend with Martin Parr

Back in December 2004, Miami was buzzing with the crass, glitz and excess that only a combination of Art Basel and Miami Beach can deliver. I was living there at the time, working part-time in a professional photo lab called District Lab. My friend Silvia worked at the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach, and she called one day with a slightly odd request: Martin Parr had been invited to photograph a cocktail party at the museum, and she wanted to know if I’d process and print his images overnight for a charity auction the following morning. She knew I admired his work. Naturally, I said yes.

Martin Parr at work. Fashion shoot Miami Beach, USA, Dec 2004

The lab agreed to let me work through the night, and Parr’s film was couriered to me during the party. Just before the event, Parr’s camera broke, and in a strange twist, I found myself lending him my own Nikon F100.

I processed and printed the work overnight, and the next day, the pictures were sold at the auction. Everyone was happy, and I quietly delighted in the fact that my camera had been used by one of Britain’s most celebrated photographers. He kindly gave me some signed prints in return.

Parr casually asked if Silvia and I fancied helping him with a fashion shoot on the beach the next day. Of course we did. He turned up carrying his (my) kit and, in true Parr fashion, a plastic supermarket bag stuffed with designer swimwear. We were tasked with organising a picnic and persuading random sunbathers to don these glamorous costumes and join us. Astonishingly, people agreed. Within an hour, we had a cast of willing strangers munching sandwiches and posing under the harsh Florida sun while Parr, looking slightly out of place, clicked away with my camera and his ring flash.

Later, we all visited some gallery openings in the Design District, and Parr treated us to dinner on Lincoln Road. It was a surreal, wonderful and fascinating weekend that gave me a rare glimpse into Parr’s world.

Not Another Party!, The Art Newspaper, Art Basil Miami Beach Daily Newspaper, 04-Beach-2004

Spread from The Art Newspaper, Art Basil Miami Beach Daily Newspaper, 04-Beach-2004