Murfin, Michael
Michael Murfin was born in the agricultural fenlands and still has
his home there. This environment has provided the subject
matter for much of his work; in the early 1980s he made
a series of paintings of two brothers who worked on a nearby farm:
'What distinguished them from the neighbouring farmers was that
they still did most of their work by hand. It seemed to me almost
as if they had been locked in that time just before the great
modern mechanisation of agriculture. It is characteristic of
the area that people keep themselves to themselves; but here,
there seemed to be a particularly strong sense of isolation, from
the village and the outside world. Ideas for each work were
gathered from snippets of gossip or fleeting observations; also
recollections of my grandfather's life and attitudes... I was
interested in the fact that they were brothers and I tried to
consider the situation of people living together for their entire
lives, never moving away from home.'
- Artwork Details: 107 x 152cm
- Edition:
- Material description: oil on canvas
- Credit line: © the artist
- Theme: Figurative
- Medium: Painting
- Accession number: AC 5003