Portfolio: Martin Parr
We don't like to be beside the seaside...
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The thing about tourism," muses the Magnum photographer Martin Parr, "is that the reality of a place is quite different from the mythology of it." And nowhere can that gap – which Parr has documented over three decades in his ongoing series "Small World" – seem greater than the beach holiday, where a few days of rain can ruin the paradisiacal ideal.
So why submit to the uncertainties of Mother Nature when you can build your own reality? It's something the Japanese are expert at, from indoor snow slopes to this artificial beach in Japan's southerly city, Miyazaki. "It's called the Ocean Dome, and when I took this picture 15 years ago," says Parr, "it was the biggest indoor beach and pool in the world."
Before the dome was closed in 2007, it spanned an area the size of four football pitches, allowing up to 10,000 visitors to lie on the sand soaking up the climate-controlled 30C heat, or swim in the 28C, salt-free water. The sky was always blue (thanks to the painted roof), and even the waves arrived like clockwork, once an hour. But perhaps most amazing was its location. "It was a kilometre from the beach – but the coast was deserted."
Small World will be showing at the Guernsey Photography Festival from Wednesday to 30 June ( guernseyphotographyfestival.com)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments