Inspired by the Japanese tradition of Suminagashi, an ancient technique of Japanese marbling that originated in the 12th century, Murphy’s Underwater Paintings apply the chance effects of ‘floating ink’ in a bath of water to create marbled patterns on large- scale canvasses.
The unique and highly visceral process of this method raises important questions regarding artistic authorship and the agency of matter, and how a non-anthropocentric relationship to the natural elements can be embraced through artistic practice.