Mr Parr made several visits to the island in the 2010s.
‘He didn’t take himself seriously.
‘He wasn’t one of us who considers themselves as very important.
‘He was very accessible, and therefore people used to like him,’ said Guernsey Photography Festival director Jean-Christophe Godet, who was responsible for some of his visits.
‘He was unstoppable – he had this energy and vitality in him which was just incredible to watch and to witness.’
Mr Parr was known for capturing everyday life with colour and humour, often with a particular focus on social class. He first visited Guernsey in 2011 with his ‘Cube’ exhibition at North Beach, where mass tourism was a key theme.
He then returned in subsequent years for Guernsey and Jersey’s Liberation Days in 2012 and 2013, further finding the time to visit both Sark and Herm.
Guernsey Museums now have a collection of more than 30 photographs from Mr Parr’s visits.
‘I think he probably liked the Britishness of Guernsey.
‘He was very at ease with and attached to this kind of local community, and trying to go out and find all the celebrations in various community centres,’ Mr Godet said.
‘He revolutionised the way people would take photos. Some people in the photography world like to take their time and to watch before shooting. Martin was the opposite of that, shooting absolutely everything – thousands of photos at a time.’
Despite the speed at which Mr Parr worked, Mr Godet said he was very unobtrusive.
He spent a lot of time talking to his subjects and would often manage to capture photos of them without them realising.
‘He was always curious about anything – it could be the food, the people, the humour of a situation – just the quirkiness of everyday life,’ Mr Godet said.
‘He was loved not only in Great Britain and France, but all over the world.’
Mr Parr had some 60 solo photobooks published, and featured in about 90 exhibitions worldwide, including a retrospective at the Barbican Arts Centre, London, in 2002.
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