“One People” by Ryan Murray

Title: “One People”

Theme: "One people" showcasing Springfield’s people, cultures, places and historical legacies

Ryan Murray combines elements from pop culture, his photography, Google Earth stills, magazine collages, and social media into a digital image, which he then layers in Photoshop or Gimp. Once printed, he takes them back to his home studio in Springfield where he makes the intricate cuts by hand until his wrist gets sore. This deliberate act of hand cutting is both meditative and progressive. "A social commentary I spend a lot of time exploring in my art is the underrepresentation of mental health in African-American communities, which leads to conversations on racial tensions in our country".

Ryan is an emerging artist with Art for the Soul Gallery and RT Woods.

Art for the Soul Gallery is a unique gallery where artists of all cultures can exhibit and sell their work. It succeeds in being a venue that represents and promotes the work of emerging local artists that reflect the diverse cultures of the global society. Art for the Soul Gallery has also upheld its educational mission to provide cultural enrichment to the community by providing a rigorous curriculum, integrating both historical perspectives and the emerging social/political issues that define our times, cultivating a safe public space for personal and collective inquiry through workshops for adults, children and artists.