Terminating Martin Parr is a series of photographs created during a live performance where Tom Pope destroyed 17 photographic prints made by Martin Parr. The 7-hour 47-minute performance took place on 19th May 2022 at ArtHouse Jersey in front of an audience and streamed live.

In 2013 the Archisle Contemporary Photography Program hosted by the Société Jersiaise commissioned Martin Parr to create a new series of photographs on Jersey. The commission concluded with an exhibition of 27 photographs, of which 10 were purchased by Société Jersiaise. The remainder were set to be destroyed, with photographic documentation sent to Parr as proof of their destruction; it was deemed uneconomical to ship the works to Parr’s studio to be stored.

While appointed Archisle photographer in residence on Jersey in 2015, Pope discovered the arrangement concerning the prints and that it had yet to take place. Later, at a photo festival, he asked Parr if he could destroy them as a performance. Parr agreed.

Pope used objects on a gallery table to destroy each print. The audience was invited to select any objects on the table for Pope to utilise. The objects related to play.

By destroying Parr’s prints, Pope was providing a service to Parr and Société Jersiaise. In the same instance he was transforming the act of destruction into a performance. The photographs he made of the destroyed Parr prints acted both as evidence for Parr that the service had been performed and as creative records of his performance.