Seoul Museum of Art hosts first Asian retrospective of Martin Parr after his death

The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) has opened "We Are Martin Parr," the first major retrospective of the late British photographer Martin Parr (1952–2025) in Asia. Organized in collaboration with Magnum Photos and the Martin Parr Foundation, the exhibition presents Parr's decades-long documentation of ordinary moments of consumption and leisure. Rather than framing his work solely as social satire or critique of consumer culture, the show highlights the candid, direct gaze he maintained throughout his life. Images feature figures at uncomfortably close range, intensely saturated colors, and a focus on seemingly trivial moments, inviting viewers to reconsider everyday scenes. Parr, an internationally renowned Magnum photographer, died in 2025.