Grains of Sand
December 13 - January 31, 2026
Clint Roenisch Gallery
To see a World in Grain of Sand
And Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
– William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
CRG is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Jennifer Murphy (Cdn, b. 1974, lives Toronto). For more than twenty years Murphy has worked in collage, assemblage, and sculpture using upcycled and reclaimed materials. She examines the interconnectedness and interdependencies of the natural world, drawn to ideas around ecological mourning and rehabilitation. Murphy writes, "For the exhibition Grains of Sand I have paired collage made from photographic images found in used books with elements from nature to reflect on our current world full of converging emergencies including the rise of fascism, disinformation, war and forced displacement, grave inequality, resource depletion, and the climate disaster, which are all exacerbated by colonial, capitalistic, and extractive forces. Through the lens of the polycrisis and the climate emergency I have been examining the interconnectedness and interdependence of these crises, the natural world, and each other as we face an uncertain and precarious future where the collective must prevail over the individual. My research has led me to investigate and make connections to the persistent resilience of rewilding at damaged ecological sites in the aftermath of war, environmental plunder and destruction such as Hiroshima, Chernobyl, the Cyprus Green Line, the Korean DMZ, Zone Rouge and Fukushima, the history of solidarity, its potential and connection to the sacred, and the power of empathy in the photography of Dorothy Lange, Tina Modotti, and Janina Mierzecka each of whom documented injustice and brought dignity to their subjects during an earlier period of crisis in the early twentieth century. In my new works I hope to highlight our role and responsibility to the world’s fragile ecosystems and one another by harnessing an attentiveness through beauty, levity and wonder. Through the urgency of our moment, I employed a series of constraints to my usual maximalist approach to collage. I pared down my process, using minimal images and components while including images of hands and human connection to convey the tenderness and wonder that can be found in all of life's interdependencies. To navigate and survive our world today and to grasp these complex interconnections inherent to it we must embrace solidarity, empathy, wonder, and a radical persistent resilience to imagine a more caring, collective future." The artist would like to acknowledge support from the Toronto Arts Council and the Superframe Framing Fund.
Overcoming the Body, used book paper collage, butterfly specimen, 20 x20 inches, 2025
Faith in Life, used book paper collage, honeycomb, 16 x 18 inches, 2025
Woven Together, used book paper collage, shell, 16 x 24 inches, 2025
The small flower has much to tell us, used book paper collage, shell, 12 x 24 inches, 2025
Longing for Balance, used book paper collage, shell, 20 x 20 inches, 2025
Entanglements, used book paper collage, shell 21 x 21 inches, 2025
Belief In Help During Mountain Climbing, used book paper collage, shell, 17 x 25 inches, 2025
Change through Disobedience, used book paper collage, shell, 26 x 24 inches, 2025
What will Bind, used book paper collage, antler, 16 x 20 inches, 2025
Insight into the Direction of the Road, used book paper collage, pressed Japanese maple, 24 x 28 inches, 2025
Sluggish Persistence, used book paper collage, Honey Locust seed pod, 15 x 40 inches, 2025
Longing to Create in Finer Matter, used book paper collage, bird’s nest, 20 x 28 inches, 2025
Longing for Tenderness, used book paper collage, shell, 18 x 25 inches, 2025
Longing for Light, used book paper collage, Barn Owl feathers, 20 x 28 inches 2025
Sensitive Thoughts, used book paper collage, butterfly, 24 x 28 inches , 2025
Those Who Feel Joy, used book paper collage, shell, 16 x 25 inches, 2025
Renunciation of the Self for Future Generations, used book paper collage, shell, 16 x 28 inches, 2025
Fragmentations, used book paper collage, seahorse, 14 x 30 inches, 2025
Longing to Restore, used book paper collage, starfish, 16 x 24 inches, 2025
To Hold Dust, used book paper collage, coal, 15 x 22 inches, 2025