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Ethan Murphy: Front & Back

September 16–November 28, 2020
Student Gallery

[TEMPORARILY CLOSED]

In Front & Back, Ethan Murphy explores the relationship between photography and loss. While searching in the basement of his childhood home for objects belonging to his father, the artist found deteriorating 4x6 inch colour prints that were wet and adhered together in layers. While most of the images were destroyed, abstract fragments revealed glimpses of a deceased loved one. In his photographs and video, Murphy washes and detaches the prints in an act of recovery that transforms the decaying family pictures into precious objects.

 

 

A semi-destroyed photograph of a young man smiling.
Fig. 1

Ethan Murphy, Dad Smiling on Dad's House, 2019, chromogenic print. Courtesy of the artist

Fig.
A colourful image with water damage
Fig. 2

Ethan Murphy, Back 2, 2019, chromogenic print. Courtesy of the artist

A water-damaged photo with a child barely visible.
Fig.

Ethan Murphy, Family Album Excerpt 5, 2019, chromogenic print. Courtesy of the artist

Installation Shots

Fig. 1

Ethan Murphy: Front & Back (installation view), 2020 © Larissa Issler, The Image Centre

Fig. 2

Ethan Murphy: Front & Back (installation view), 2020 © Larissa Issler, The Image Centre

Fig. 3

Ethan Murphy: Front & Back (installation view), 2020 © Larissa Issler, The Image Centre

Ethan Murphy: Front & Back