Mollie Murphy
Natural Selections

Mixed Greens is thrilled to announce Mollie Murphy’s site-specific installation that will transform the gallery windows into the front of a museum case, leaving viewers only a pane of glass away from a larger-than-life baboon, hawk, and chimpanzee. Encountering the physically large presences and locking eyes with their unexpected gazes, viewers will experience a wild urban encounter.

Natural Selections are part of a series of photographs Murphy took at Harvard’s Museum of Natural History. Cropped and recontextualized through her camera’s lens, the taxidermied animals appear as if they could be alive, their stillness seemingly momentary due to the static nature of the photographic medium. Through the large windows, the baboon and hawk stare directly out at the street, acknowledging the viewer’s presence, while the chimpanzee quietly peers out of the museum box glass as if scheming an escape. The animals offer an arresting sight, urging viewers to reflect on their own condition, as well as the condition of the animals.

Mollie Murphy notices incongruities, unnatural juxtapositions, ludicrous recontextualizations, and general hilarity in everyday life. She pays attention to the way in which our identities are inextricably linked to the things we collect, display, cherish, and throw away. How we choose to present our objects and rearrange our environment is a powerful marker of culture and identity. Through photography and sculpture, she reframes and elevates these little moments, sideward glances, and tragic romances. For instance, in one body of work she photographs and positions dime-store tchotchkes next to priceless museum objects. In another, she deconstructs old clothing to make new, unsettling objects that echo their former material and function.

Recognizing both the humor and heartbreak in the world, Murphy’s multi-dimensional work ultimately urges viewers to walk through the day and night with their eyes open. She wants us to “look up, look around, and see all this meaning.”

Mollie Murphy received a BA in English Literature from George Mason University and an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University. Solo and group exhibition venues include the Arts Council of Princeton, NJ; Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN; CollectiCo Gallery, NYC; Galapagos Artspace, Brooklyn, NY; City Without Walls, Newark, NJ; the Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ; Phoenix Gallery, NYC; apexart, NYC; and 301 Gallery, Beverly, MA. This past year she was a resident at the Vermont Studio Center, Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, and Kansas City Art Institute. She lives and works in Princeton, NJ.

For more information, please visit molliemurphy.com


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