City Matters Edition 012

Page 16 | 07-13 December 2016
In Profile
Martin’s on
Parr with the
best when it
comes to the
money shot
CITYMATTERS.LONDON
in focus: Alderman
Alison Gowman was
just one of many
captured by Martin
ACE PHOTOGRAPHER ON SNAPPING SECRETS OF THE SQUARE MILE
A WELL-TO-DO gentleman dressed in a decorated red blazer
and captain’s hat stands Thames-side, gingerly holding a
grotty-looking swan away from his crisp white trousers.
If this image of David Barber, the man who leads the annual
ceremony to round up and mark mute swans each July, isn’t
enough to convince you that we British are just a bit mad, then a
visit to Martin Parr’s latest exhibition at the Tower Bridge Engine
Rooms certainly will.
Swans Gloves Roses and Pancakes is the second body of work
from Parr’s two years spent as photographer in residence for
the City of London, during which he was given unprecedented
behind-the-scenes access to all the pomp and circumstance
surrounding the City’s ancient traditions.
The eccentricity on display includes schoolchildren whacking
the ground with wands of willow to reaffirm parish boundaries,
hats off: the Worshipful
Company of Mercers
big talent:
Martin Parr
a pair of empty boots observing the swearing in of the new Lord
Mayor, and the procession of a single rose through the City streets
on a silken pillow.
When asked to nominate a favourite shot, Parr pauses: “You
have to view it as a group of pictures,” he says. “One image needs
the other to reflect this strange world.”
So what has Parr learned of these traditions that are largely
hidden from public view?
“I think the City of London is almost a feudal society, but at
the same time it’s at the cutting edge of modern technology and
banking and business, so it’s a complete contradiction,” he says.
“And contradictions are my livestock.”
Parr has documented a great many contradictions in this
country through his efforts to create what he terms “an archive
of the British.”
From working class holidaymakers in 1980s New Brighton
to rhubarb farmers in West Yorkshire, he has made his name as
the country’s best-known living photographer through his wry
observations of British life.
Quintessential
“I am a very quintessential British photographer, so inevitably
that humour, the irony is part of my make up,” he says. “The
British are very funny…we’re a great subject matter.”
Parr spent the better part of two years with his lens trained
firmly on the Square Mile as part of a broader focus on the
concept of the establishment, which so far includes Harrow, Oxford
University, Christ’s Hospital and the British Army in Germany.
He also has his sights set on Eton College, but admits there’s
plenty left undocumented in the Square Mile.
“I was originally only going to do one calendar year but because
there are so many [ceremonies], and they’re so hidden, I had to
make it two years because often you find out about something
that had just passed.
“I could have gone on for another five years and I would have
never run out of subject matter.”
Swans Gloves Roses and Pancakes is on at Tower Bridge
Engine Rooms until 31 March.
All images © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
swan song: David Barber
WEIRD & WONDERFUL
CITY TRADITIONS
Swan Upping
Annual ceremony dating back to the 12th century where
the Queen’s official Swan Uppers row up the Thames
each July to catch, mark and release mute swans. The
five-day task provides a yearly update on how well they are
breeding.
The Pancake Race
Race between livery companies held on Shrove Tuesday
where teams run around Guildhall Yard tossing their
pancakes. The event is organised each year by the
Worshipful Company of Poulters who are in charge of
supplying the eggs, while the Gunmakers start each race,
the Clockmakers keep time and the Fruiterers supply the
lemons.
Knollys Rose Ceremony
A single red rose is paraded from All Hallows by the Tower
to Mansion House and presented to the Lord Mayor each
June. It must be taken from a garden on Seething Lane,
formerly owned by Lady Constance Knolly, who was fined
a rose in 1381 for building a footbridge between her two
properties without permission.
The Trial of the Pyx
A ceremony that has taken place since 1282 to independently
check coins produced by The Royal Mint. The chest (or
pyx) of coins is presented to a jury consisting of financial
leaders and members of the Worshipful Company of
Goldsmiths, who will test randomly selected coins for their
weight, size and metal content.
Beating the Bounds
Pupils from local schools mark Ascension Day each year
by beating the boundary marks of different parishes with
wands made of willow. This tradition dates back to the
Middle Ages, when parishes made a ceremony of checking
their borders and praying for protection and blessing.
Cart Making
Car-men gather once a year to stamp their wagons, cars,
lorries or motorbikes with a red-hot iron on a wooden
plate. This was originally an ancient form of licensing the
carts and cars in the City.
Oranges & Lemon’s Children’s Service
A church service held in March each year to give thanks for
the restoration of the bells of St Clement Dane of nursery
rhyme fame. Children of the St Clement’s Dane Primary
School receive an orange and a lemon each.