Vanitas - #blacklivesmatter
2020
oil on wood panel
48" x 48"
Vanitas, BLM is a large-scale floral oil painting on panel that commemorates and honors the lives lost to police violence. Each falling name tag represents an individual whose life was taken, transforming the painting into both a memorial and a call for remembrance. The use of perennial flowers symbolizes the recurring, systemic nature of police brutality against communities of color. Drawing on the tradition of classical flower painting, the work employs grand scale, detailed rendering, and the inclusion of insects to evoke the historical vanitas genre—reminding viewers of mortality, injustice, and the urgent need for change.
All images copyright Margaret Murphy, 2000 - 2025