Letters Home
Letters Home is an exhibition about intimacy, about the loss of time spent reflecting and connecting to others in an increasingly distant daily conversation of emojis, broken sentences, and abbreviations. To address the growing concern that communication is disintegrating, the artist creates unique letters to send to individuals who have inspired and encouraged her work over time, by participating in important conversations and making contributions in a variety of ways. By recording her voice reading the letters, Murray allows the element of the human voice to be infused into the act of letter writing. Conjuring up the ancient art of storytelling and calling upon the element of the uniqueness of voice in writing, we hear the letters, which are now a part of private collections around the world.
Letter to Marina
Letter to Marina was photographed in Casa Gracia Hostel in Barcelona. The furniture there reminded the artist of the artist residency decorated by Marina and her family in Umbria, Italy. Along with the letter, is a brochure for Montserrat monastery, a place that Murray would like to share someday on a walk with Marina; Montserrat is a sacred mountain, as the mountain where Marina lives and where Saint Francis used to pray, Monte Subasio at Eremo delle Carceri. The artist remarks," We draw lines across the planet, invisible connections with our memories and thoughts, our connections to others we have met and wish to share things with."
The drawing is of Argonauta argo, a pelagic octopus that creates a fragile shell to navigate and to hold her eggs within it, as a protection as she crosses the open sea. Murray says she imagines the argonaut as a conveyor of dreams, a nautical messenger delivering her letters across the world on the open sea.
The letter is sealed with a coin pressed into wax. The coin is an American one dollar coin with the face of the Native American Shoshone tribeswoman, Sacagawea on it. Sacagawea was known for her courage and determination as an integral part of the Lewis and Clark expedition, both interpreting and helping to find food as they crossed the Bitterroot Mountains and finally reached the Pacific Ocean. Sacagawea's face pressed into the wax is a reminder from Murray to Marina of her courage and determination guiding and interpreting for artists through the mountains in Italy on an existential journey.
The drawing is of Argonauta argo, a pelagic octopus that creates a fragile shell to navigate and to hold her eggs within it, as a protection as she crosses the open sea. Murray says she imagines the argonaut as a conveyor of dreams, a nautical messenger delivering her letters across the world on the open sea.
The letter is sealed with a coin pressed into wax. The coin is an American one dollar coin with the face of the Native American Shoshone tribeswoman, Sacagawea on it. Sacagawea was known for her courage and determination as an integral part of the Lewis and Clark expedition, both interpreting and helping to find food as they crossed the Bitterroot Mountains and finally reached the Pacific Ocean. Sacagawea's face pressed into the wax is a reminder from Murray to Marina of her courage and determination guiding and interpreting for artists through the mountains in Italy on an existential journey.
Lettre à Kenza
Lettre à Kenza a été photographiée sur la Place de la Virreina, dans le quartier de Gracia à Barcelone. L'énergie du peuple et les changements de lumière rappellent à Murray le temps passé dans la région kabyle d'Algérie, où elle a rencontré Kenza lors du festival Raconte-Arts de l'été 2018. Par chance, elle a de nouveau rencontré Kenza à Alger en octobre 2018 et elles ont eu plus de temps pour parler et échanger des expériences de vie. Murray préparait une exposition personnelle à la Galerie Civ-Oeil d'Oran, et Kenza l'encouragea avec l'aide de la recherche de matériaux pour une sculpture. "J'ai parlé à Kenza de beaucoup de choses, d'un festival féministe en Tunisie, de l'Argonauta et de sa coquille. Ces moments m'ont aidé à avoir confiance en moi pour continuer mon travail, pour sentir son importance", explique Murray.
La lettre est scellée au revers de la même pièce d'un dollar américain de Sacagawea utilisée pour la lettre précédente, mais cette fois, l'image est celle d'un aigle en vol.
Letter to Kenza was photographed in Plaza de la Virreina in the Gracia neighborhood of Barcelona. The energy of the people and the way the light changes reminded Murray of the time spent in the Kabyle region of Algeria, where she met Kenza during the Raconte-Arts Festival in the summer of 2018. By chance she met Kenza again in Algiers in October 2018 and they had more time to talk and exchange life experiences. Murray was preparing a solo exhibition to be shown at Civ-Oeil Gallery in Oran, and Kenza encouraged her with help finding materials for a sculpture for the exhibition. "I spoke with Kenza about many things, a feminist festival in Tunisia, about the Argonauta and her shell, these moments helped me to feel confident to continue my work, to feel its importance," Murray explains.
The letter is sealed with the reverse of the same Sacagawea American one dollar coin used for the previous letter, but this time the image is of an eagle in flight.
La lettre est scellée au revers de la même pièce d'un dollar américain de Sacagawea utilisée pour la lettre précédente, mais cette fois, l'image est celle d'un aigle en vol.
Letter to Kenza was photographed in Plaza de la Virreina in the Gracia neighborhood of Barcelona. The energy of the people and the way the light changes reminded Murray of the time spent in the Kabyle region of Algeria, where she met Kenza during the Raconte-Arts Festival in the summer of 2018. By chance she met Kenza again in Algiers in October 2018 and they had more time to talk and exchange life experiences. Murray was preparing a solo exhibition to be shown at Civ-Oeil Gallery in Oran, and Kenza encouraged her with help finding materials for a sculpture for the exhibition. "I spoke with Kenza about many things, a feminist festival in Tunisia, about the Argonauta and her shell, these moments helped me to feel confident to continue my work, to feel its importance," Murray explains.
The letter is sealed with the reverse of the same Sacagawea American one dollar coin used for the previous letter, but this time the image is of an eagle in flight.
Letter to Pau
Letter to Pau was photographed in the Jardins del Palau Robert in Barcelona. Murray said, "I visit this museum often because of the photography exhibits and especially the gardens, which remind me of the gardens in Cadiz, a city in the south of Spain where I spent a two month residency at Linea de Costa. Somehow the variety of trees remind me of the different trade roots from Asia to North Africa and Europe- mostly because they are all so different one from the other. The Palau Robert, at one point in time, was the headquarters of the Generalitat's Department of Culture, which seems a fitting place to photograph my letter to Pau who is a curator and researcher and who is a part of the North Africa Cultural Mobility Map Project. This letter includes a photo I took in the harbor in Hong Kong with a beautiful boat, its sails like insect wings, a brilliant crimson in the night." Included in the letter is a brochure for unusual places to visit in Barcelona, which Murray said she thought might be of interest to Pau, because "sometimes even if you live in a city, you might miss seeing some things," says Murray.
The letter is sealed with the imprint of a 1 yuan coin from China, which Murray says is, "a wish for him to expand his projects further east."
The letter is sealed with the imprint of a 1 yuan coin from China, which Murray says is, "a wish for him to expand his projects further east."
Letter to Mehdi
Letter to Mehdi was photographed at Rodamon Hostel, where Murray lives sometimes between projects. Murray met Mehdi while she was at the Raconte Arts Festival in Tiferdoud, Algeria, in an exhibition about gender which was an outgrowth of a unique residency created to address and inform artists about issues around gender identity. Mehdi was one of the main organizers of the exhibition within the context of Raconte Arts, a popular festival. The exhibition within the festival was meant to bring art to the people and evoke reflection and discussion with the public around gender identity. Murray was inspired to write an article, Raconte Arts: From Discorporate Dissonance to Durable Activism, about the exhibition and several performance events there, which was published in Ineffable Magazine of Algerian Art and Culture. While at the festival, Murray had a long discussion, which was about social media and its effect on individuals resulting in increased isolation and depression, with Mehdi. This discussion was a part of the inspiration for the Letters Home project.
Inside the letter, Murray included a map of her favorite neighborhood of Barcelona- Gracia. It also includes specific places to visit within Gracia. The photo she sent is a view from the train while riding from Venice to Rome, the fog so thick it becomes a backdrop for the silhouettes of winter trees, as charcoal lines in a landscape. Mehdi works for CISP Algeria, an NGO, which originated in Italy, and is organizing participatory events against social exclusion and racism, thus, this image is a subtle connection to Italy and to origins.
The letter is sealed with the reverse side of a 2009 Sakagawea dollar coin pressed into the wax. On this side of the coin appears a Native American woman with the Three Sisters of Agriculture, the three main Native American crops: winter squash, maize(corn), and climbing beans. In the poem within the letter, Murray refers to a rebirth- a moment when one comes back to life after a tragedy or an extreme incident and views life from a new perspective, as when crops are harvested and then planting starts again. Murray says, "we sow the seeds of our lives over and over again, planting our ideas, our hopes and letting them die again, only to be reborn anew in an endless cycle."
Inside the letter, Murray included a map of her favorite neighborhood of Barcelona- Gracia. It also includes specific places to visit within Gracia. The photo she sent is a view from the train while riding from Venice to Rome, the fog so thick it becomes a backdrop for the silhouettes of winter trees, as charcoal lines in a landscape. Mehdi works for CISP Algeria, an NGO, which originated in Italy, and is organizing participatory events against social exclusion and racism, thus, this image is a subtle connection to Italy and to origins.
The letter is sealed with the reverse side of a 2009 Sakagawea dollar coin pressed into the wax. On this side of the coin appears a Native American woman with the Three Sisters of Agriculture, the three main Native American crops: winter squash, maize(corn), and climbing beans. In the poem within the letter, Murray refers to a rebirth- a moment when one comes back to life after a tragedy or an extreme incident and views life from a new perspective, as when crops are harvested and then planting starts again. Murray says, "we sow the seeds of our lives over and over again, planting our ideas, our hopes and letting them die again, only to be reborn anew in an endless cycle."
Letter to Tash 1
Letter to Tash incorporates drawings of the Argonauta stretching as if it is doing yoga, with two long tentacles on one side holding the shell, while two on the opposite end arch backward. There is also a flyer from an event at Hangar art space in Barcelona, which is meant to be an example from the artist of moments she wishes Tash were here to be a part of and to share these experiences. The letter was photographed in two different places, by the obelisk at Diagonal metro station and also at the Plaça de la Virreina, which Murray mentions in the letter.
By the obelisk there was a protest in support of freeing Catalan political prisoners, which Murray imagined Tash would have loved to have been in Barcelona for to take photos of all the action. A photo of a family taking a selfie in the Jardin d'Essais in Algiers is also tucked inside the letter. Tash and Murray had talked about Algiers many times while they were both in Barcelona and so this is a kind of reminiscence. On the back of the letter, the wax is sealed with the face of Susan B. Anthony, from a one dollar US coin. Anthony was an important figure in the fight for women's rights in the United States. Murray also photographed her letter with the T-shirts for sale during the protest. On one shirt, the message reads, "without women, there would not be a revolution." Another shirt has two people kissing, they appear as gender neutral, with the message "use your tongue," in Catalan as part of promotion for learning another language.
By the obelisk there was a protest in support of freeing Catalan political prisoners, which Murray imagined Tash would have loved to have been in Barcelona for to take photos of all the action. A photo of a family taking a selfie in the Jardin d'Essais in Algiers is also tucked inside the letter. Tash and Murray had talked about Algiers many times while they were both in Barcelona and so this is a kind of reminiscence. On the back of the letter, the wax is sealed with the face of Susan B. Anthony, from a one dollar US coin. Anthony was an important figure in the fight for women's rights in the United States. Murray also photographed her letter with the T-shirts for sale during the protest. On one shirt, the message reads, "without women, there would not be a revolution." Another shirt has two people kissing, they appear as gender neutral, with the message "use your tongue," in Catalan as part of promotion for learning another language.
Letter to Tash 2
Letter to Tash 2 includes a drawing of a Selkie, a mythical creature from Scottish folklore, who is half seal and half human. Here the Selkie is in transition, a transformation from one sex to another, from one world to another. Enclosed with the letter to Tash, is a photo of one of the rose windows of Notre Dame, which Murray took several years ago on a visit to Paris. The image reminds one of the ephemeral qualities of one's existence, bringing to mind the fire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which took the spire and most of the roof. Along with the photo, there are also pages torn from a book of essays by Virginia Woolf found in a secondhand bookstore in Barcelona. Also there is a prospectus of the region where Murray is at the moment of writing the letter, Ocata Beach, which is part of Masnou in Spain.The coin impressed into wax to seal the letter, is an Algerian Dinar with a gazelle's head: a symbol of fleetness contained, of potential energy.
The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf with the artist Anne Murray reading aloud.
Letter to Arlene
Letter to Arlene is written to Murray's lifelong friend and mentor, Arlene Zivitz. Wrapped in a yellow ochre paper are several pages of drawings of sea creatures, a photo of the inside of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a prospectus from an exhibition at the Pompidou Center in Metz, France, and a brochure for things to do in and around Barcelona.The coin pressed into the wax is from New Zealand and has a tall ship with the word endeavor written beneath it.
