In the Round
The universal symbol of a sphere is intrinsically recognisable to us all. Perfectly symmetrical, it appears everywhere in nature, from a dewdrop to planetary systems. For Phil Murray, the sphere operates as a sculptural boundary with which to work out possibilities, difficulties and metaphors. Consisting of two plaster spheres with a cast of his curled body concealed inside each, In the Round is made curious by crevices and openings that hint at an organic otherworldly terrain. These spherical sculptures sit side by side, like twinned pods with inner matricesmapping a journey through mass and void.
This visual double-take is an investigation of both the surface of the sphere and the secret, confining space of its interior. Openings and incisions on the outside of the sculpture expose impressions on the inside, which in turn form an eerie cross-section of membranes, canals and chambers, seen as if through an optical medical instrument. The shape of Murray’s body is integral to the make-up of the spheres, yet this fact remains mysterious, the myriad views though the work denying any sense of its construction, since the negative space inside the cast itself is discernible. The sculptures are thus familiar and strange, tactile entities which, like the inside of a vacated seashell, suggest the intimate boundaries of a once-living architecture.
The smooth, pure outside of the sculptures is interrupted by their difficult interiors. The egg-like quality of the outer surfaces, achieved through careful sanding and waxing, seems beautifully fragile and the cut-away sections even more reminiscent of broken or peeled shells. Exposed are interior labyrinths, more bone-like and porous than the luminous porcelain exterior. Complex and perplexing, they allow us to glimpse visible and invisible dimensions, corporeal and incorporeal evidence. As French existentialist philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty famously wrote, ‘The invisible, the idea, is not contrary of the visible, it is the invisible of the visible.’
In the Round captivates with its smooth outer surface and exploration of the nature of symmetry. Murray’s actual experience of confinement in a small space made him aware of the pulsating, breathing mechanism that is the human body. In the Round is not only a sculptural analysis of subject and object, of self and world, it is a manifestation of this intense sensory awareness/deprivation that led him on an introspective journey through the corporeal machine. The two sculptures enforce a reverse immanence as they operate in positive and negative space and this gives the work its axis, depth and dimension.
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