That time I asked Martin Parr what he'd done with the whiskey.
Also, this is your last chance to pre-order Beauty Hunting.
I bet you’ll be glad when I stop banging on about my Kickstarter! Trust me, I’d be glad too - there’s nothing more awkward and uncomfortable for me than to promote a thing with a deadline attached. Seriously. Just let me get on with the actual work of making the work, and let the money magically appear so I can make things happen.
Anyway. There is a deadline. It’s Thursday, April 11 2024 at 9pm BST.
Until then, you can pre-order Beauty Hunting at a special Kickstarter price, and ensure you get a copy. The edition size will be determined by the number of preorders on Kickstarter.
Side note: there were a number of books I came across recently that I was like “damn, I should have gotten it when it first came out / when the Kickstarter was running” and now they are out of print / super expensive as a collector item. I’m not saying this book will reach the Ansel Adams first edition figures by they way (a girl can dream but let’s face it, women just aren’t as valued in the art world as men are so there’s that). I’m just saying don’t repeat my mistakes and don’t leave it till “later”.
Anyway, last week I made a trip to Martin Parr Foundation library in Bristol to look through some out of print photography books.
On the way there, my perpetual teenage sidekick asked who Martin Parr was and if he was still alive. And then we walked into the library, and there he was, very much alive, just getting on with his work.
Anyone can visit the library. It’s open four times a month, and you just need to email them to book a spot (members get priority as it’s a very small space). There’s usually an exhibition in the Foundation space too, as well as at the Royal Photographic Society next door, so one stone, three birds. You don’t usually get to work alongside Martin Parr though.
So to the whiskey.
There was this massive Elliot Erwitt’s Great Scottish Adventure book that my 13 year old wanted to look at. I picked it out but only to discover that most of the book is just a case for a bottle of Macallan single malt. The bottle was missing.
“What did you do with the whiskey Martin?” I asked.
“Oh, we drank it all.” he said, matter of factly.
That’s it, that’s the story.
Turns out, that one - with whiskey untouched - fetches upwards of £2,000 at whiskey auctions. Also, who knew there are so many auctions devoted specifically to whiskey.
Anyway.
It doesn’t have whiskey in the box - or any alcohol for that matter.
Just lots and lots of feelings. And some words.
And photographs, naturally.