Martin Parr: Think of Scotland

It promised much but it was okay. Perhaps because I'm from Scotland the hard edged life that exists serves as an effective but sad counter to the shortbread tin beauty. On that score the book succeeds greatly.

A gift that was received and praised

Martin Parr's 'Think of England' did it for the English in 2004 now it's the turn of those folk north of the border with a hundred beautifully observed photos. They were taken between 1995 and 2015 and it's reassuring to see the usual Parr themes: close-ups of garish looking food; communal social activity; families relaxing in the landscape; the affluent and their rituals.Many of the photos were taken at agricultural shows and Highland Games where there are competitions for the best fruit, vegetables, knitting, cakes or prize cattle and sheep. Other photos capture the everyday like the drunk man laying on a Port Glasgow pavement, washing on a line in Horgabost, Isle of Harris, tourists in Edinburgh enduring wet weather. Parr has a knack, with just one photo, of summing up certain aspects of a place, in this case the extreme conservatism of many in Scotland, on page sixty-four there's a photo of a field with four children's swings in one corner and a prominent council notice saying Please do not use this playing field on Sundays. The affluent get a look-in with three shots of a procession and chats over tea for members of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.Whether it's local worthies, pensioners, the working class or children Parr uniquely manages to capture them all in photos that have something to say about them and the location.The book has no text other than the briefest of captions -- place, event, date, and it's a quality print job from Damiani (with a three hundred screen I think) on quite thick matt paper, the book's large size helps, too. Will Think of Wales be next?