“The world is not rooting for you. They don’t want you to be Hemingway. They actually want to mock you. But it’s a great thing—that if you don’t have the guts to break through, then you don’t belong there. You’ve got to be willing to be made fun of. It’s not up to you to decide whether your work is good or bad.”—Ethan Hawke

Artist Statement

I’m a visual artist whose work also extends into film, audio, writing, and interactive projects. A lot of what I make comes from the culture I grew up around and what stuck with me.

Familiar images and pieces of pop culture become ways for me to explore memory, identity, nostalgia, and how the things we grow up with continue to shape us. My films, podcasts, and writing tend to go further inside—into psychology, relationships, personal struggles, and the awkwardness of being a person.

Curiosity is a big part of how I work. I’m drawn to existential questions, but I also like playing with ideas, taking familiar things out of context, and seeing what happens. I don’t always need an answer or even know exactly where something is going when I start. That’s usually part of the fun.

Vince Murphy, artist