A Trip To Martin Parr’s The Last Resort Anniversary Exhibition

As it hosts its 15th solo exhibition of the late British photographer, Man About Town takes a trip to Rocket Gallery.

Martin Parr was famously a man with a great sense of humour. Known for photographing the mundane everyday in the UK, his boldly confrontational style built a portfolio of imagery that was centred in unguarded, ambiguous moments – and often pretty comical. Think a manicured foot intruding on an ocean view, or a group of extravagantly dressed girls in a sandwich shop. His work proved that documentary-style photography could be so much more than the traditional sombre kind, as he introduced vibrant colour palettes to the predominantly black-and-white genre. It was about playing with contrasts, capturing cluttered, juxtaposing environments and highlighting vibrant hues. 

Following the Epsom-born artist’s passing in December 2025, Rocket Gallery celebrates 40 years since his iconic photo series The Last Resort was first shown at the Serpentine Gallery in 1986, presenting the historical Fujicolor C-type photos printed from the original negatives. The exhibition also features a group of contemporaneous vintage photographic prints produced in the mid-1980s under Parr’s supervision, along with archive material that provides insight into the creation and reception of the work. 

With an exclusive preview of the exhibition, Man About Town headed down to the gallery’s London Fields space to relive the late photographer’s work live in the flesh.

Couple at a Cafe

As an avid smoker, it’s always been a bit of a dream of mine to smoke indoors at a cafe. Especially for moments like this, where there’s a sense of awkwardness and tension with your partner as you sit across from them. Having a cigarette during stressful times like this – where you might’ve just finished arguing with your significant other and are now sitting in silence as a result – would have been calming.

Compared to the other images that make up this exhibition, there’s a banal quality to this one. It’s simply a couple sat at a table, with a plate and a handful of condiments between them against a plain setting. But it’s this feeling of restraint that the picture holds that amplifies its influence when put beside the vibrancy and chaos of the Brighton seaside. A quiet yet powerful interlude that has the ability to stand on its own. 

The Arcade

There’s a humorous side to this image that I really enjoyed. Although the relationship between the ladies at the machines and the toddler is unknown, there’s a feeling of irresponsibility in the picture’s narrative that I found captivating. It’s as if the women were so entranced and focused on their game that they never realised that the child would leap out of its stroller and investigate the arcade for herself. The motives of both parties are different, yet they collectively can’t help but be so absorbed in the simple pleasures of the alluring, bright lights of the arcade machines.

Children with Ice Cream

There aren’t many images that personify a traditional British summer more than two kids eating an ice cream and making an absolute mess in the process. It’s an embodiment of childhood nostalgia when you’re left unattended by adult supervision, indulging in your favourite dessert with not a single care in the world about the consequences you’ll face when your parents see the sticky mayhem you’ve made. The bright red car poking out from the left creates the perfect contrast to the scenery.

Women on the beach

Compositionally, this photo feels the most satisfying thanks to the golden ratio that breaks up the image into three distinct sections. Each respective one provides its own narrative: the three sunbathing women interrupted by an investigating dog; a lone man sitting past a pile of rubbish on the verge of lighting his cigarette; and a cluster of people making their way to and from the pebbled beach. 

It feels like there are rows of people-watching, emphasising the beauty of Brighton’s seaside chaos. And as the viewer looking at this scene, your mind equally wanders from subject to subject, organically allowing you to paint your very own narrative as you pick up on each set of characters in the frame. 

Woman Sunbathing by the Digger

A juxtaposition so extreme, it’s almost impossible not to see the humour in it. The foreground initially seems relatively ordinary: a woman lying face down on a towel as she sunbathes, with a young girl crouched down beside her. However, then you notice the robust digger looming over the two subjects, as if it’s about to steamroll them flat, blocking off the scenic ocean view in the process.

The Last Resort is on show at Rocket Gallery until 1st October 2026.