Click on each image for a narrative about the photograph.

The Traveler ©Owen Murphy Along the coastal highway, the pedestrian sign was a reminder to drivers to be aware of sharing the road. It became a metaphor for me, the solitary traveler(el viajero) alone in the middle of nowhere.
Barber Mirror ©Owen Murphy I was just beginning my life as a photographer and reading everything I could about the history and the icons of the medium. I was living in San Francisco at the time, ignorant of what themes to develop. I always had a camera with me and years later I discovered the real meaning of what I was creating.
Ms. Lydia ©Owen Murphy I could barely understand a word she spoke. Fortunately her son was with me, a huge man who showed his tender love for a woman who knew how to survive on her own. On this day, he was bringing her a package of Bugler tobacco for her to smoke in her pipe.
Tater ©Owen Murphy A beautiful child who radiated a calm and open nature, she was not shy about willing to engage with me, a stranger in her life.
El Cristo ©Owen Murphy Mexico’s history of ritual sacrifice is always present in depictions of Jesus. The agony of torture and mutilation is shown in full horror reinforcing the concept of sacrifice for a greater good. You would never see a crucifix, an image, or a statue in the USA that comes close to what you encounter in Mexico; blood, flailed flesh with bones showing through are too much for Americans who need to sanitize the idea of crucifixion.
El Callejon ©Owen Murphy An image that I could not pass up creating, I would have never forgiven myself for not accepting this gift.
El Zapatero ©Owen Murphy I was passing by in a bus seated by the window when this humble cobbler’s shop came into view. His solitude was magnified by that single white shoe.
The Conversation ©Owen Murphy The woman was part of a large group of protestors who arrived every day to stand around the plaza in front of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. A governor of one of the states had defrauded the campesinos from many villages and to bring the fact to light and seek compensation they chose to stand naked, hand out information sheets and chant to anyone who passed by. The men wore small placards with the governor’s face over their genitals while the women, in one of the most modest countries imaginable, stood completely without clothes.
Jimmy Dorsey ©Owen Murphy In the part of the New Orleans Creole neighborhood where he operated his saloon Mr. Jimmy was the master of his domain. He had seen it all and provided many options for people of color to escape from drudgery of their lives of working hard for low pay and enduring the institutional racism that surrounded them.
Soledad ©Owen Murphy
Nocolasa ©Owen Murphy Nobody in the market dressed like her which made her seem out of place where women dress more for selling fruits and vegetables. She radiated a strong sense of who she was that no man would ever be able to challenge.
The Traveler ©Owen Murphy Along the coastal highway, the pedestrian sign was a reminder to drivers to be aware of sharing the road. It became a metaphor for me, the solitary traveler(el viajero) alone in the middle of nowhere.
Mercado Ignacio Ramirez ©Owen Murphy The young seller of bootleg DVDs and CDs seemed lost in a haze of shiny packages, waiting and hoping for a sale or two.
Autopista San Jose ©Owen Murphy The sinuous nature of this highway just grabbed me in a way that roads rarely do since how often do we find beauty in concrete and steel.
Michell y perro ©Owen Murphy I was renting a house in San Blas on on west coast of Mexico, a little north of Puerto Vallarta. She was a neighbor’s child who was very curious about the gringos living next door. She hadn’t been taught yet to be fearful of strangers.
El Zapatero ©Owen Murphy I was passing by in a bus seated by the window when this humble cobbler’s shop came into view. His solitude was magnified by that single white shoe.

This exhibition gave me the opportunity to think of the various projects I’ve created over the years in a different way. Most images are seen in a particular context, where one photo is directly related to another to create a coherent narrative flow but this exhibition was not bound by typical guidelines. I felt free to choose images that I felt stood alone and did not need a specific context, like place, a particular era, subjects related to events or cultural or current topical themes.

The evolution of how images are linked or sequentially presented has changed for me. While I do work along the traditional methods of context, presentation and images related to themes, I have begun to think of my photographs as poems that allow me to create a very personal relationship with the images, hopefully these ideas and feelings translate to the viewer but when taking chances with intent the end result can never be calculated or predicable.

The images presented are from two extended life projects, “Creoles of Louisiana”, who reside in different parts of the state of Louisiana and is about a culture of mixed ancestry that Louisiana is well know for and stretches back to the origins of the state. “El Viajero” (The Traveler) is about visits to Mexico over several decades and is more about what I discovered over the years as a traveler; one who moves about and through a vibrant and beautiful country and discovers something not only about the place but as importantly, about oneself.

Owen Murphy, Sept.10, 2021

featured image credit: Manuel – He taught Spanish to many people who lived in Mexico and the town of San Miguel de Allende. I was drawn to the monumental nature of his head, which reminded me of monolithic Rapa Nui heads of Easter Island. ©Owen Murphy

Bio:

Owen Murphy Jr. is a freelance documentary, born and raised in New Orleans. After living in New York City and San Francisco, Murphy returned to New Orleans in the mid 70’s to begin his photographic career. He helped create New Orleans’ first photographic cooperative, The Photo Exchange, and embarked on a lifetime of exhibiting personal work, teaching, and establishing a professional commercial business. He is a recipient of a Photography Fellowship from the State of Louisiana in 1998. In 2006 he received grants from the Joe and Dorsett Brown Foundation, the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center Katrina Art Fund, and the State of Louisiana Cultural Initiative. His work is in numerous private collections as well as those at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Louisiana State Museum, the Roger Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Historic New Orleans Collection.

In 2006, he co-founded the New Orleans Photo Alliance, a non-profit arts organizations, and was the first president of the Alliance, crafting it’s bylaws, filing for it’s 501(c)(3), securing it’s first exhibition gallery, and providing leadership for the first 2 years.

Contact Information:

www.owenmurphyphotography.com

omphoto@mac.com

504-610-4899