[Art and About post]

The magazine ART AND ABOUT have written this lovely post about my work:

Benjamin Murphy @ Tina, We Salute You

I had been looking forward to seeing Benjamin’s work here ever since I first visited his web site and I wasn’t disappointed. Far from it. I was pleasantly surprised at the way he had taken possession of the whole space as opposed to simply the white walls that dominate two sides of the cafe.
Their is a sense of being wrapped in the work as you walk in, it surrounds you, creating an envelope of images that draw your eye around the room and have you peering around corners (and other customers) trying to read the text running between bench seat and floor.
Even with my limited knowledge of Benjamin’s work, there seem to be regular motifs appearing – the slightly disturbing empty eyes, the teen romance elements that bring Lichtenstein to mind, the gothic air, the hints of a story being told.
The work is created using nothing more complex than a few rolls of black insulating tape expertly applied to walls, windows and any other surface he can get away with. It is not surprising, then, that his work in this medium has the feel of a graphic novel but there is no direct narrative here – more a tantalising glimpse of a story yet to be told.
Benjamin informs me that he has just completed a new piece at the Olive Cafe in Stoke Newington. I look forward to popping in and seeing the latest chapter in this intruiging tale.