Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer and photojournalist. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world. 

Parr has said of his photography: 'The fundamental thing I'm exploring constantly is the difference between the mythology of the place and the reality of it.  ...Remember I make serious photographs disguised as entertainment. That's part of my mantra. I make the pictures acceptable in order to find the audience but deep down there is actually a lot going on that's not sharply written in your face. If you want to read it you can read it.'

Parr's aesthetic is close-up, through use of a macro lens, and employing saturated colour, a result of either the type of film and/or use of a ring flash. This allows him to put his subjects "under the microscope" in their own environment, giving them space to expose their lives and values in ways that often involve inadvertent humour. His technique, as seen in his book Signs of the Times: A Portrait of the Nation's Tastes (1992), has been said to leave viewers with ambiguous emotional reactions, unsure whether to laugh or cry. At first glance, his photographs seem exaggerated or even grotesque. The motifs he chooses are strange, the colours are garish and the perspectives are unusual. Parr’s term for the overwhelming power of published images is “propaganda”. He counters this propaganda with his own chosen weapons: criticism, seduction and humour. As a result, his photographs are original and entertaining, accessible and understandable. But at the same time they show us in a penetrating way how we live, how we present ourselves to others, and what we value.

Images by Martin Parr

What are codes?

Codes are a system of words, letters, figures, or symbols used to represent others, especially for the purposes of secrecy.

A code can be seen as a symbol or some form of object which portrays a message. Codes within photography are also known as symbolic codes, technical codes or written codes.

What is secrecy?

Secrecy is the action of hiding something secret  from individuals or certain groups who do not need to know.  Secrecy is keeping something secret or the state of being kept secret.

Secrecy also has direct connotations with identity and how people will try to keep their identity hidden.Secrecy photography often results in surrealistic images which help to represent the sense of a hidden or secret identity.

What is Meshes of the Afternoon?

Meshes of the Afternoon is one of the most influential works in American experimental cinema. A non-narrative work which has been identified as a key example of the “trance film,” in which a protagonist appears in a dreamlike state, and where the camera conveys his or her subjective focus.

This slow movie was Made by Deren with her husband, cinematographer Alexander Hammid, Meshes of the Afternoon established the independent experimental movement in film in the US.This short film inspired early works by Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, and other major experimental filmmakers.

Shot by Hammid, a leading documentary filmmaker and cameraman in Europe, the film makes new and surprising use of such standard cinematic devices such as montage editing and matte shots.