ARTIST STATEMENT
Liz Murray is, although still emerging, already an award winning artist from Norfolk who uses her former career as an Emergency Medicine doctor to influence her art to propose questions of life, mortality and societal behaviours. By playing with luminism through a contrast of hyper-realistic pieces that occasionally flirt with surrealist concepts Liz aims to draw the viewer in to deliberate and poignant messages as a reflection of life.
"I use the power of paint and light to resonate in a way beyond words; to invoke thought to ignite change. Having experienced the turbulent reality of humanity from both sides of the stethoscope (formerly a doctor) I play with hyper-realism and a touch of surrealism to challenge archaic ideas and push boundaries.
My work has evolved to play with light and dark to reflect life and mortality that is complicated by disease, using raw elements in juxtaposition to amplify poignant messages. My vision is to put a poignant and timely spotlight on the absence of diversity in history & culture and particularly the movement of art. Allowing a change in narrative to provide engagement in more diverse thought and conversations that are less segregational and more inclusive. Social stigmatisation of disease has long been reinforced by the lack of representation of what it truly is to be mortal. Life itself is a fragile and overwhelmingly complex state of being, with the reality of what it means to live being grossly under-represented in the artworks following a predominantly male dominated industry. By bringing the focus to what it truly means to be human, to be mortal in an honest and raw way I hope to encourage new voices and ideas to redefine the foundations."
BACKGROUND
Liz, 35 from Norfolk UK, was born in the North East of England. Due to pursuing a degree in Medicine to become a doctor, Liz received no formal training in Art. However, was taught by her Grandfather, formerly an art teacher and artist of premier league football paintings, along with her father who was a successful freelance artist. Liz qualified as a doctor in 2011 when she moved to Norfolk and began selling large-scale acrylic landscapes and figurative pieces on Artfinder.
In 2016 Liz took a break from working as a doctor in Emergency Medicine. A combination of fertility issues, being diagnosed with Lupus and time pressures meant Liz took the opportunity for a break from the stethoscope to concentrate on the canvas. 2016 saw her launch LALOA (Live A Life of Art), a lifestyle brand of fine art and homeware celebrating country animals and tweed. The brand complimented her debut fine art collection of limited edition giclee watercolours - The Quintessential Country...in Wellies. So named because of the niche combination of painting country animals donning tweed flat caps and wellington boots. The collection quickly found international collectors.
2016-2018 Liz exhibited her collection at a number of British Country Estates, including with Country Living at The Game Fair, Ragley Hall and was featured in multiple magazines and seen in Vogue, World of Interiors and Country Living magazines. In 2018 Liz began to venture with her own gallery in Burnham Market, but following the premature and complicated birth of her son, followed quickly by the Covid-19 pandemic it was time for the paintbrushes to take a rest.
Liz returned to her scrubs and stethoscope in 2020 to work as an Emergency Medicine SpR during the pandemic. During this time Liz quickly found her muse changing to a more serious note after being profoundly affected by the pandemic. Liz's first public sculpture 'Fighting For Life' was a Finalist in the Visual Art Open Exhibition 2020. A combination of barbed wire and torn face masks was to depict the war scene and fragility of the PPE against what felt like an endless battle against an unseen force.
In 2022 Liz released the collection; People Bleed. A series of oil paintings using the egg as a symbol of fertility, motherhood and fragility. Liz drew upon her own experiences of pregnancy loss, premature birth and sexual discrimination to begin a collection to try to address the gender inequalities in health and society. Completing in 2023, the collection won an award for Curator's Choice for Women Bleed. The collection addressed fertility issues and loss and was a raw surrealism collection putting the spotlight on important health issues.
In 2023 Liz retired from a clinical facing role to formally work as a Professional Artist. 2023 saw Liz Longlisted for prestigious exhibitions such as the Visual Artists Association Professional Artist Award, Visual Art Open and a prize winning finalist in the Doncaster Art Fair. In 2023 Liz also appeared as a Wilcard in the SKY ARTS TV programme Landscape Artist of The Year. Her freelance illustration work continues and is set to release a number of children's books in 2023/2024.
In 2024 Liz launched the national campaign mortal And Strong. Liz developed the concept for this after suffering multiple miscarriages in 2019. Since then Liz began doing research into how to produce a charitable project that uses art on a large scale to produce something significant and influential. Liz continues to produce works to invoke thought and put a spotlight on what it is to be human whilst committing to health advocacy work across the UK.
