The Parents by Colin Gray, begun in 1980 shortly after the photographer relocated from his hometown of Hull to London, is a long-term photographic project centered on Gray's mother and father, Ron and Rene. Initiated as a homesick gesture to build a family album, the work evolved into a collaborative, staged meditation on familial life and emotional memory.
At a time when the domestic and familial were often dismissed as too sentimental or amateurish, Gray's project challenged such hierarchies by asserting the conceptual depth of photographing one’s own parents. Building on this context, The Parents explores themes of ageing, illness, memory, and role reversal within the family. As Ron and Rene move from playful collaborators to subjects facing the physical and emotional tolls of old age, the images chart the subtle and sometimes surreal shifts in their lives. Later chapters, such as In Sickness and in Health, address the poignancy of dependency, the rituals of care, and the inevitability of loss.
Visually, the project is composed of staged tableaux that borrow from both documentary and theatrical traditions. Using a medium-format film camera and direct, sometimes harsh lighting, Gray constructed scenes that combine domestic settings with elements of fantasy and irony. Ron and Rene appear costumed, posed, and sometimes absurd—playing roles that reflect their personalities and shared history. The early images are vivid with color, humor, and symbolism, while later works shift toward quieter, more contemplative compositions.
The Parents was exhibited widely across Europe and later toured to China and Australia. It was published as a monograph by Fotofeis in 1995 and received recognition through a D&AD Yellow Pencil in 1996 and the ADCE Gold European Champion’s Award in 1997.
