Lauri Lynnxe Murphy

Lauri Lynnxe Murphy

 

 

Lauri Lynnxe Murphy is a bio artist, sculptor, curator and writer living in Denver, Colorado. She received her MFA from The Ohio State University on University Fellowship in 2012. She has spent her life building community and DIY gallery spaces and advocating for artists alongside her own robust studio practice. Her work is research-driven and science-based, and focuses on insect extinction, mutation, climate change and biophilia. Much of her work is made by collaborating with endangered species and the systems they employ, such as building sculptures with bees or making drawings with snails.

 

 

 

Honeybee Modernism

These works were made by placing delicate wax sculptures into hives full of honeybees for them to pull out into comb.  The original structure remains mostly intact, while the bees often add surprise edits and reconstructions.  The works are then removed from the hive and combined with other materials to make the final sculpture, often materials that reference architecture or have been altered by other insects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In collaborating with snails to make a drawing, I follow a set of rules: I only move the snails when they have traveled off of the paper, I never attempt to redirect them for aesthetic reasons, I am a mere observer while they do their part.

I endeavor to accurately record their journeys and the crossing of their paths; the line carries an internal logic. As I cut and manipulate the paper, the actions of my hand erase the very history I am attempting to preserve. Despite taking care to preserve their delicately placed trails they slowly disappear, and it becomes harder to see the history that remains and accurately remember its contours.