Boring Postcards

All the postcards featured will depict places in the British Isles; most stem from a period of optimism in Britain as new civic centres, motorways, airports, and power stations were built and launched; souvenirs of 60s and 70s achievements we now question. For a postcard to qualify as sufficiently 'boring', either its composition, or its content, or the characters featured, must be arguably boring; or the photograph must be absent of anything which might conventionally be described as interesting. Of course the postcards finally are not boring at all, but powerful, interesting and loaded statements about time and place and the aesthetic of Britain.

The work of Martin Parr bridges the divide between art and documentary photography. His studies of the idiosyncrasies of mass culture and consumerism around the world, his innovative imagery and his prolific output have placed him firmly at the forefront of contemporary art. A member of the international photo agency Magnum, Parr is an avid collector of books and a world authority on the photobook.

"Weit entfernt davon öde oder langweilig zu sein, bietet Parrs Buch einen eigenwilligen, spannenden Kommentar zur britischen Nachkriegsarchitektur, zum gesellschaftlichen Leben und zur Identität in jener Zeit." (Independent on Sunday)
"Das komischste Buch [des Jahres] ist Boring Postcards von Martin Parr, das ich stets vor mir auf dem Küchentisch liegen habe und das mich beim Frühstück immer wieder auflachen und meine Cornflakes durch die Luft sausen lässt." (Charlotte Cory, Independent)