James Murphy

On Display

Cutout installation

Process

In an attempt to create an installation that shows off the many patterns on both moths and butterflies, On Display was made. Each individual insect was cut out and painted to show off the wings of real species. Working on this project in small increments every day led to concepts for future projects, including a potential kinetic piece modeled after the dragontail butterfly (lamproptera meges) and how its tail moves as it flies.

Mimicry Series

Ink on paper

Progress

Mimicry depicts two bugs- the walking leaf mantis (phylliidae) and orchid mantis (hymenopus coronatus) camouflaged into the flora that they are named after. These ink paintings were inspired by the idea of blending my previously separated subjects, flowers and insects, into one series of works. I attempted to use abstraction in order to hide the insects within the paintings so that they are hard to decipher at first glance.

Fields

Acrylic on canvas