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34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of Central Lancashire
Four versions of three routes
In contrast to photographic investigations of everyday life which often result in gallery exhibitions or beautifully produced books, Murray intentionally appropriates vernacular methods of production and print materials such as photocopying, newsprint and non-gallery based public display with the aim to produce work that deliberately intends to engage with and actively encourage participation with an audience beyond the conventional art world.
This appropriation became present in Murray’s photographic work, commissioned for the fifth edition of the Brighton Photo Biennial curated by Photoworks.
The project took the delineation of political constituencies, as defined in the UK General Election, as its starting point. The debate around possible constituency reformation has raised significant points of enquiry about how ‘borders’ are decided and the consequences for each area and its respective residents. Each photographer investigated Brighton and the surrounding area using the current constituent boundaries as strict routes of exploration.
Site-specific street posters were displayed along each of the constituency borders, and a semi-permanent installation in Bartholomew Square. A map of each route and how to engage with the work was freely available. Residents and visitors were actively encouraged to explore the politics of ‘borders’ as a local reality. Murray devised a 40-person participatory bus tour of the sites, and a self-publishing workshop for 16-18 year old young adults.
Alongside the physical realisation, a photographic portfolio and artists’ statement was published in Issue 17 of Photoworks journal. In addition permission was granted to re-publish a 1976 essay The Beholding Eye: Ten Versions of the Same Scene by American writer D.W. Meinig.
Coverage of the Biennial included previews in the Independent on Sunday, Guardian, British Journal of Photography, and a review in the January / February 2013 issue of Frieze. Visitors numbers were approximately 100,000 with over 12,000 specific visitors recorded at Bartholomew Square.
