Zora J Murff

31° 7’ 25.94” N, 81° 33’ 22.45

brick room with seven black and white tall panels on wall

Bobby said blow the Pigs away (rearranging the social order)

American Father

Hit-a-lick

hands in the dark holding cash and a cigarette

Gas Money (Affirmation #1)

crushed watermelon among debris with blurry floral frame

Garden with fruit (after Charles Ethan Porter)

red and orange neon signs in room corner that read "Taken" and "Token"

Writings on the wall (or, Taken Token)

Blue shopping bag in blue frame reading "The Greatest Nigga In The Universe"

Feelin’ Myself (Bag)

The Perfect Slave (after Jared Sexton)

collage of many people and a large phallus over a person's portrait

Woah Nigga, Die Slow Nigga (Cooning)

Biography

Zora J Murff is an artist and educator interested in liberation from anti-Blackness. He has created multiple books of his work including his latest monograph, True Colors (or, Affirmations in a Crisis) published by Aperture Foundation. His work has been exhibited and collected widely by institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, LACMA, Studio Museum in Harlem, and the V&A Museum. In 2023, Murff was named an International Center for Photography Infinity Award Winner.

Artist statement

Murff uses his creative practice to explore the politics of stereotypes using provocative imagery. Murff practices photography expansively, stretching it across disciplines to create associative or implied images. Like bell hooks, he strives to speak plainly about visual culture and its entanglement with racial capitalism and other forms of hierarchical oppression.