The Pleasures of the Immediate

Celebrated Magnum photographer Martin Parr’s beautifully rich, colour-saturated and playful photographs have become iconic symbols of British culture. Exploring themes of leisure, cultural peculiarities and mass consumerism, he celebrates the often un-noticed and un-celebrated details of daily life in his own inimitable and affectionately humorous style.

Author of almost 50 books, Martin’s photographs have been featured in more than 80 exhibitions worldwide. Henri Cartier Bresson said he was “from another planet”, while many regard him as the greatest observer of people this country has ever produced.

A long-time friend of Port Eliot Festival, this year he’s setting up a constantly evolving exhibition – the biggest he’s ever done – in the basement of the main House at Port Eliot. Named ‘The Pleasures of the Immediate’, this is a unique opportunity to feature in one of Martin’s photographs and take home your own special memento of the festival afterwards.

We spoke to him for an insight into the plans he’s currently hatching…

“I very much like the premise of showing the photos to the people who are in them. There is no better, or keener, audience for a photograph than the sitters themselves, and it is this basic conceit that will drive the evolving exhibition.

“I have done smaller shows like this at the Venice Biennale, but nothing on this scale. We’re bringing in a big printer and a whole team of people to make it work; throwing everything behind this to make it exciting and constantly changing. I’ll be shooting and documenting the festival as it unfolds and people will have the chance to come and see themselves in the exhibition – and all of the other photos that I’ve taken as the weekend progresses.

“I started coming to Port Eliot Festival pretty early on, when I was invited to do a talk. I’ve had a relationship with the festival and the House ever since – it’s now a part of my summer calendar and I always look forward to it.

“The festival has certainly grown and got more successful; you can see how word has spread. It’s very encouraging to see that people have taken to it in the way that they have. And what’s not to love about it? There’s the fantastic programme; the setting is perfect; there’s always something to do; and there’s always inspiration from just looking around at the events that are here and the people you meet. You do bump into lots of interesting people – that’s part of the charm. Everyone’s equal here. There’s no hierarchy; everybody just wonders around and goes to anything and everything. Sometimes it rains, but it’s England.

“I don’t go to many other festivals. I go to a photography festival because I’m a photographer, but they haven’t quite got the same charm that Port Eliot has. Port Eliot stands out for me because it’s very laid back and it’s very good to look at. It’s quintessentially English, but quite international at the same time.

“I go to Edinburgh every year, which I love, but it’s much more rigid and you have to book up. It’s a different type of festival. Even though Edinburgh is the most beautiful city in the UK, it’s still never as good to look at as the charms of Port Eliot and the House and its grounds.

“I haven’t studied this year’s festival line-up properly yet, but I have heard about Martin Scorsese’s Outdoor Cinema, and I know that Mik Artistik is coming back – he was one of my highlights, one of my discoveries, from last year so I’m delighted about that.

“I’m looking forward to roaming all over the place really. There’s no one particular tent that I attend more – I’ve been to every the nook and cranny of the festival.

“When I was backstage at the Dior show, I bumped into at least two major figures from Port Eliot Festivals – Michael Howells and Stephen Jones. When I was backstage there, I thought, ‘Oh, this is like Port Eliot’, bumping into these people I know through the festival who are very central in the world of fashion.

“I love the whole atmosphere of the House; it’s a real, very lived in aristocracy – a combination of charm and threadbare. It’s the antithesis, or the antidote, to a National Trust property, which are always very reserved and perfect and clean. It’s all very good to look at and I like the fact that the carpets are threadbare. The decay in the House is all part of the charm.

“Once you go to Port Eliot you get hooked. It’s very dangerous because if you go, you’ll end up going for the next decade. But there’s nothing wrong with that!”

>> Martin Parr’s exhibition of around 50 photographs will constantly be updated, so the show will change as new photos are added to the display. You’ll have an opportunity to see the photos being processed and printed on a design jet 3200 HP, state of the art printer, courtesy of Hewlett Packard who are sponsoring the event.

>> Martin’s photographs will also be screened to the whole festival at the Martin Scorsese Paradiso Cinema each evening, before the nightly screenings of films chosen by the legendary director.

>> There will also be an opportunity to purchase photographs, £25 for a small print, and £275 for a larger A3 image signed by Martin Parr. We will also have a display so other non-exhibited photos can be viewed on a smaller screen.

>> View Martin Parr’s other photographs of Port Eliot House here.