Jamie Murdoch
they/them
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Jamie Murdoch is a nonbinary queer artist from British Columbia and is currently studying at the Nova Scotia College for Art and Design. They mainly work in digital mediums but have been branching their practice into metalsmithing as of 2024.
“This piece aimed to create both a functional and aesthetic finger brace. When drawing or writing my right pointer finger often over-extends (I’m double-jointed on the fist knuckle) After years of this and chronic joint pain making its brace was my 3rd time ever making a ring. It's personalized with a little fairy ring of mushrooms and a tooth set in the center, both are reoccurring motifs in my work as I love using themes of decomposition and bones. It's both aesthetic and provides the support I need while drawing and writing (plus it looks a bit cute and spooky)”
What does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
“I am new to working in this medium (I've only been working with metal for about 4 months) but getting to bend and mold and shape it into new things I feel relates to being queer and my experience with gender expression. I love being able to create things I feel comfortable wearing that aren't quite feminine but also are not quite masculine in aesthetics."
"Fairy Ring", Brass and bone, 1.5" x .75" x .95", 2024Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
“Regardless if the work is explicitly queer I will always create queer artwork and most likely everyone else will always be viewed that way. I can't detach my queerness from my art practice, much as I can't detach my queerness from myself. This work however isn't queer in subject matter but it was designed and crafted by a queer person, so id say it's still pretty queer."
