Grace Murphy: Familiar Strangers

Tomorrow when the farm boy finds this

freak of nature, they will wrap his body

in newspaper and carry him to the museum.

But tonight he is alive and in the north

field with his mother. It is a perfect

summer evening: the moon rising over

the orchard, the wind in the grass.

And as he stares into the sky, there are

twice as many stars as usual.

- Laura Gilpin

Just as the poem The Two-Headed Calf renders a world that often prioritises conformity above diversity, Familiar Strangers by Grace Murphy celebrates the entrancing pull of subject matter that is tentatively odd yet shadowed with familiarity.

Murphy's paintings explore the complex and often unsettling relationship between humans and animals, employing AI to transform her subject matter in ways that blur the lines of familiarity and estrangement. Through her art, she explores the interplay between the instantaneous nature of AI and the laborious craft of oil painting to expose the flaws that arise when human influence overshadows nature's intrinsic beauty and diversity.

Familiar Strangers invites viewers to reflect on the implications of nature versus nurture and the diminishing differences between humans and animals, ultimately delivering a profound commentary on the need to preserve the unique essence of the natural world.