James William Murray

Lives and works in Brighton, UK

James William Murray (b.1988) lives and works in the coastal city of Brighton, England. After completing an MA in photography in 2015 his studio practice quickly expanded to include drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture, and he now works across these media.

Murray implicates the agency of his body within diverse processes of making. For example, he is currently developing a new series of monoprints made with copper grease – a material used in mechanical engineering. He begins by drawing an 8:10 grid on a sheet of glass. After covering his hand with the copper grease, he places it onto the surface of the glass and performs a series of predetermined gestures using the grid as a guide. He then lays a sheet of paper on the surface, allowing the copper grease to penetrate the fibres of the paper. This results in residue images of human presence in motion.

He has shown his work in the UK, Europe, and the USA. Recent exhibitions include: ‘New Idea’ (group exhibition) at Rule Gallery, Denver, USA 2021; ‘Many Splendored Things (two-person exhibition with Garth Gratrix) at Abingdon Studios, Blackpool, UK 2021; ‘Realia’ (solo project) at Brighton Centre for Contemporary Arts, UK; ‘Material Curing’ (group exhibition) at Thames-side Studios Gallery, London, UK 2021; and ‘Turn Your Face Towards My Face’ (solo exhibition) at Stephane Simoens Contemporary Fine Art, Knokke-Heist, Belgium 2021.

His work is held in several public collections including the University of Brighton UK, The British Library UK, Hellenic Centre for Photography GR, and numerous private collections throughout UK, USA, and Europe.