Martin Parr (1952 - 2025, UK) was a close friend and supporter of The Photographers’ Gallery. We were working together throughout 2025 on plans to show A Fair Day here. In keeping with his wishes, this exhibition showcases Parr’s early-career work in Ireland while honouring his long association with the Gallery. A Fair Day: Photographs from the West of Ireland presents black-and-white photographs made in rural Ireland in the early 1980s.
‘Fair days’ were occasions for communities to gather for trade, entertainment and religious observance. Many of these special days photographed by Parr are still celebrated each year, preserving a strong sense of community and tradition. For Parr, these gatherings were a chance to capture everyday life, showing a society in transition, where long-standing customs co-exist alongside modern global influences. The photographs show cattle trading, horse fairs, folk musicians and dance halls, alongside new buildings, abandoned Morris Minors and partygoers in '80s fashion. At first glance, many images appear timeless, but a closer look reveals a plastic cup in the Virgin Mary’s holy well, or TV aerials creeping into a pastoral scene.
Parr spent two years in Ireland creating this work, approaching his subjects with patience and a keen observational eye, while his characteristic wit ensured the images avoided cliché. A Fair Day was Parr’s last major project in black and white. He felt the work had not been shown as widely as his later projects and believed it spoke to contemporary debates around community, social change, and the collision of tradition and modernity.
Parr exhibited at The Photographers’ Gallery many times during his career. His first solo show here was Hebden Bridge and Beauty Spots in 1977, and he served as an artist trustee from 2001 to 2007. We are pleased to continue working with the Martin Parr Foundation, and with Rocket Gallery, London (who represent the Estate of Martin Parr) to honour Martin's legacy and celebrate his impact on British photography.
The signed silver gelatin prints on display are now extremely rare. Please click on the 'works' tab at the top of this page for prices, and enquire for further information.
