This image is from Martin Parr’s exhibition and accompanying book Bored Couples, published by Agnes B./Galerie Du Jour, 1993.
Colour photographs depict twenty bored couples who have run out of things to say to each other. The book design allows the viewer to open it from the front and from the back, so it reads French one way and English the other. Designed by Peter Brawne. Printed by Balding and Mansell, Norwich. Softback.
You can see several pages from the book on Parr’s official website: https://www.martinparr.com/books/#gallery/8__3470940330/193
Curly bread, old fella with lashings of Brylcreem and a sticky plastic table cloth, pretty much sums up 1980s Brighton
Artist’s statement from the Magnum Photos website:
This series of photographs were taken as an opportunity to explore the veracity of the caption. We do not know if these random couples are bored or not. Who is to say what is authentic when captioned as thus? Parr also photographs himself with his partner appearing to be bored, but she is, in fact, very excited at the addition of this photo to the project.
