Zora J Murff (b. 1987) and Rana Young (b. 1983) are lovers, artists, and educators based in Fayetteville, AR (USA); both are professors in the School of Art at the University of Arkansas and earned MFAs in Studio Art at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Their photographic series, Fade Like a Sigh, has been exhibited nationally, featured widely online, written about for Hyperallergic and the British Journal of Photography, and published in print with LensCulture and Gnomic Book. Selected prints from the project were recently acquired for the permanent collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and exhibited as part of Sightlines: Photographs from the Collection (on view through May 7, 2023).
From 2019 to 2021, Murff and Young conceptualized and independently funded their curatorial project, Take it from Here, featuring lens-based works by ten emerging artists employing the camera as a multifaceted tool for imagination, play, and self-exploration. The project was awarded an exhibition at Filter Space (Chicago, IL) in 2021, and they partnered with Travis Shaffer of theretherenow. to create a limited edition Risograph artist’s book/exhibition catalogue. The publication received a ‘Jurors’ Special Mention¬: Catalogue as DIY Exhibition’ for the 2021 Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards.
