At Apopo Studios, we are all about capturing the truth of our community. That’s why today we’re taking a moment to pay tribute to a titan of the lens who spent his career doing exactly that: Martin Parr.
If you’ve ever picked up a camera and felt like you had to travel to a mountain top or a fashion runway to find something “worthy” of a photo, Martin Parr is the artist who proves you wrong. He didn’t look for the extraordinary; he looked for the ordinary and showed us how extraordinary it actually is.
Parr was a British documentary photographer and a member of Magnum Photos. He became world-famous for his saturated, high-contrast look at everyday life. Whether it was people eating melting ice cream at a crowded beach, the clutter of a suburban living room, or the fashion choices at a local racecourse, Parr captured the world precisely as it was—unpolished, slightly chaotic, and deeply human.
You might wonder: What does a British photographer have to do with us here in South Auckland? The answer is everything.
Parr’s work was a middle finger to “perfect” photography. He loved the kitsch, the loud colours, and the quirks of working-class life. In Manurewa, we have a culture that is rich, vibrant, and real. We don’t need filters to tell our story. Parr’s legacy reminds us that:
Our streets are art: The dairy on the corner, the modified cars, the Sunday markets—these are the scenes that define us.
Saturation is soul: Parr used bright, bold colours (often using macro lenses and ring flashes) to make the mundane pop.
The “Flaws” are the features: A candid shot of a laugh or a messy family BBQ tells a better story than a posed portrait ever could.
At Apopo Studios, we encourage our residents and creators to look at their surroundings through a “Parr-inspired” lens. Documentary photography is a way of saying, “I see you, and you matter.” By documenting the way we live in the 09 today, we are creating a history for the generations of tomorrow. Martin Parr taught us that you don’t need a glamorous subject to make a masterpiece; you just need an honest eye and the courage to find humor and heart in the everyday.
Thank you for teaching us that the world—in all its messy, colorful glory—is always worth a photo.
Keep creating, Keep capturing. — The Team at Apopo Studios, Manurewa
