Aziza Murray

My work stems from a desire for permanence. At a young age, I experienced tragic loss and it was through creating that I learned to process emotions and events. The materiality of photography is the catalyst that has, and continues to enable me in my recording of important people and life experiences, from growing up biracial in a racially polarized city, suffering additional losses in young adulthood, traveling far from home, or finding refuge in beautiful objects and still moments.

In my artistic practice I often purposely complicate process, looking through multiple camera lenses at once to recreate feelings of memory distortion and nostalgia. Although I use a variety of cameras including digital, I find that analog and antique processes often translate my ideas most coherently and, there is no greater magic for me than watching images appear on paper or metal in a tray in the darkroom.

Originally from the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, DC, I have proudly called Albuquerque, NM home for over ten years. I completed my MFA at the University of New Mexico in 2015, where I also worked as a pictorial archiving fellow for the Center for Southwest Research and a photography instructor for the undergraduate program. Since then, I have worked in different capacities in the film industry in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, piquing my interest in cinematography and the inner workings of production life. I have shown my work in DC, Albuquerque, Portland, OR and Austin, TX.

azizamurray.com

@zeezery