To this end, Parr collects like a museum curator rather than a single-minded devotee. Collecting with such range allows him to harness apparent contradictions without comment. In addition to his yen for Thatcher memorabilia, for example, he is passionate about plates and posters that commemorate the 1984–85 miners’ strike, staged when Thatcher’s government tried to shut down unprofitable mines in the north of England. Clearly, Parr is drawn to things that aren’t easily reconciled. Although this might make it hard to get a real sense of the man, it is revealing of the disparate motives driving his photographic work. “I deal in ambiguities,” Parr admits. “It’s what I make a career of.”

“Parrworld” is on view at the Graphic Design Museum, Beyerd Breda, Netherlands, through Jan. 6.
  "Watches of Mass Destruction" originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of Modern Painters. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Modern Painters' October 2008 Table of Contents.