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Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
The Christmas Tree Bucket is a modern-day Christmas story with a dark edge. A wordless narrative, Parke s story is
an ironic take on the typical Australian suburban Christmas. He photographs friends and family, and casts them in a
twisted tale that merges fact and fiction. The viewer is left to make imaginative sense of images of barbeques, screaming
children, a burning gingerbread house, and even the photographer himself vomiting into the infamous Christmas Tree
Bucket. Says Parke: It was there while staring into that bright red bucket, vomiting every hour on the hour for fifteen
hours straight that I started to think how strange families, suburbia, life, vomit and in particular, Christmas really was
Merry Christmas!
Trent Parke, born in Newcastle, Australia in 1971, joined Magnum Photos in 2002 and has been a full member since
2007. Parke has exhibited internationally and has received numerous awards including World Press Photo Awards in
1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005, and the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography in 2003. His publications
include Dream / Life (1999), The Seventh Wave with Narelle Autio (2000), Bedknobs & Broomsticks (2010), and the
highly anticipated Minutes to Midnight, also to be published this season by Steidl.
About the author
Trent Parke, born in Newcastle Australia in 1971, joined Magnum Photos in 2002 and has been a full member since§2007. Parke has exhibited internationally and has received numerous awards including World Press Photo Awards in§1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005, and the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography in 2003.
Summary
“’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…”
The Christmas Tree Bucket is a modern-day Christmas story with a dark edge. A wordless narrative, Parke’s story is
an ironic take on the typical Australian suburban Christmas. He photographs friends and family, and casts them in a
twisted tale that merges fact and fiction. The viewer is left to make imaginative sense of images of barbeques, screaming
children, a burning gingerbread house, and even the photographer himself vomiting into the infamous Christmas Tree
Bucket. Says Parke: “It was there – while staring into that bright red bucket, vomiting every hour on the hour for fifteen
hours straight – that I started to think how strange families, suburbia, life, vomit and in particular, Christmas really was…”
Merry Christmas!
