
















Terminating Martin Parr
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.

Publication:
Terminating Martin Parr by Tom Pope
Edition 100
2024
Designed by Johanne Lian Olsen
Published by Folium
The book documents Pope’s performance of the same name where he destroyed 17 photographs created by Martin Parr. The 7-hour 47-minute performance took place on 19th May 2022 at ArtHouse Jersey
2 years after the performance on 18th May 2024, we launched Terminating Martin Parr at a performative book launch at Peckham24, London, where Pope semi-destroyed the book cover with a cyanotype-soaked tennis ball and a drill.
The book was designed by Johanne Lian Olsen and Published by Folium, who also assisted during the performative launch with preparing the books for drilling, editioning and selling.
The publication brings together the destroyed images and records of the performance. There is an in-conversation with Alice Maude-Roxby that discuss the conceptual thinking behind the project, the value systems at play in the photography and art world, the act of destruction within the art history canon and performative photography; how photography is folded into the performance. Additionally, there is a creative text contribution by Becky Tanner-Rolf featured in the publication.
Images from the performative launch shot by Jim Riseley








