Martin Parr’s Signs of the Times, A Portrait of the Nation’s Tastes: antidote pictures to consumerism?

Abstract

This study of Martin Parr’s book Signs of the Times: A Portrait of the Nation’s Tastes (1992) traces the roots of the British photographer’s interest in consumption practices and of the new form of social documentary photography that has become his trademark. We show that Parr’s take on the 1990s craze for home decoration pinpoints deep shifts in British society at the end of the Thatcher era, towards more individualism and materialism. The combination of images and quotes from his subjects gives an insight into the consumers’ psyche, revealing forms of commodity fetishism, narcissism of small differences, and an obsession with upward social mobility. Beyond seemingly futile decoration issues, the photos address personal identification through objects and the power relations that it involves. Yet, the photographer’s distant gaze and humorous use of motifs help avoid pathos and provide viewers with an “antidote to propaganda” in Parr’s own words, namely, to the dominant consumerist ideology, although this has meant a controversial departure from the traditional codes of social documentary.