Christopher Murray

Sketches for Jazz City

Some sketches of ideas that I will be using to explore new techniques in performance and 3D animation.
I have an idea for making portraits: talking to people e.g. Gerry Fitzpatrick: bookseller. I imagine him talking and a few things that he has experienced being illustrated in his surroundings. It could also be a film in which he is talking/responding to questions I have come up with to evoke his dreaming edge. It would be nice if it came out as poetry. Someone talking about themselves in a poetic form.

A person stands in a derelict brick-walled studio space wearing a large handmade cardboard head mask with bulging spherical eyes and a textured surface made from layered corrugated cardboard strips. Behind them, a raised platform holds an intricate miniature cardboard cityscape with arches and towers.

A studio workspace photographed in natural light. In the foreground, the top of the circular cardboard head structure is visible, with a vertical cardboard arch rising from its centre. In the background, various cardboard sculptural models are arranged across the room -- including a detailed miniature cityscape and a white figure sculpture -- all set against exposed brick walls.

A large handmade cardboard head structure sitting on a wooden floor in a brick-walled studio. The head is cylindrical with a flat top and is covered in layered corrugated cardboard strips, with two prominent bulbous papier-mâché eyes with dark pupils. Cardboard architectural models are visible in the background.

A densely detailed pen sketch on graph paper. A central figure in a suit plays a saxophone, surrounded by a swirling composition of fish, birds, smaller human figures, and abstract forms. The drawing has an expressive, jazz-influenced energy with layered, overlapping lines.

A pen sketch on graph paper showing a vertical design concept. At the bottom is a simply drawn human face. Above it rises an elaborate structure of geometric, diamond-patterned forms suggesting a costume or headdress, with architectural spire-like shapes and tally mark annotations.

A pen and pencil sketch on graph paper. The lower portion shows a human face viewed from below, framed by a rectangular border. Above it, a scene unfolds as though growing from the head: a bare winter tree, a street lamp, a figure seated on a bench, and a staircase leading up to an arched doorway -- suggesting a park or urban streetscape emerging from the mind.

A closer view of the same theatrical cityscape set, with dark cardboard structures painted to evoke a dense city skyline. The cracked clay sculptural head is more prominently centred in the foreground, its surface showing deep fissures across the face.

A white papier-mâché or paper-covered sculptural costume piece laid flat, viewed from above. The upper section forms an abstract structure of vertical columns and outstretched limbs, while a cracked clay or plaster face mask is positioned at the bottom, oriented upside-down. Dark theatrical set pieces are visible in the background.

A mixed-media drawing on paper combining coloured pencil and ink. A stern, heavy-browed face with closed or downcast eyes is depicted from the chin up, with the top of the skull replaced by a detailed cityscape of skyscrapers in warm orange, red, and purple tones -- evoking the idea of a city contained within or growing from a human mind.

A projector sits on a long wooden table in a dark room, casting a large image onto a screen. The projection shows a close-up of pale granules clustered beside a deep blue, swirling circular form, creating a strong contrast between texture and color. A loose cable trails across the tabletop toward the projector.

Three performers gather around a small table on a stage. One person sits holding a card, facing a puppet seated at the table. A second performer crouches behind the puppet, helping animate its raised arm, while a third stands to the side assisting. Several small cards are scattered on the floor beneath the table, and black stage curtains hang in the background.

Clips of my 2D animation work

This R&D will allow me to develop my animation practice, working with 3D models and live or real spaces. The videos below are 10-30 second clips of music videos I have animated.

Recommendations and peer reviews

A digital animation still depicting a surreal cosmic beach scene. A figure sits on white sand beside a glowing, luminescent sea under a star-filled night sky. Vivid purple and pink clouds frame the scene, with a large blue planet and a red celestial body visible overhead. Palm fronds edge the right side of the frame.

A theatrical performance photograph taken in darkness. A projected image of a human face wearing a blue surgical cap is displayed on a wall, the face overlaid with swirling green and blue patterns resembling a globe. Below it, a desk lamp illuminates a table holding a small knitted or papier-mâché sphere, a bowl, and scattered objects.

“Chris has collaborated with us in a variety of roles as both a performer/puppeteer and workshop artist. His work is always unique, inspiring, joyful and full of a very special kind of creative flair. He is a fantastic artist and always a pleasure to work. His mind is full of original and brilliant ideas that deserve to flourish with further financial support.”
Katy Ann Bellis The Bird Cage Stage

“Chris Murray is a fantastic, creative, and highly talented performer, puppeteer, designer, and maker. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him on numerous occasions—as a puppetry consultant, as a performer, and through booking his work with Fool Size Theatre for Unity Theatre and Physical Fest. I can recommend him wholeheartedly as an artist, and I look forward to seeing how he continues to develop during this R&D period” Elinor Randle Artistic Director Unity Theatre, Physical Fest.

“The animations you developed through co-production with the young people have been a roaring success! we are looking to incorporate them into training packages for health professionals to help guide best practice.”
Melanie Pilling

“Having taught Chris for three years on the Theatre and Performance Design degree course I was well aware of his considerable creativity, visual flair and accomplished making skills. As a professional he became a central and important collaborator on our Arts Council England funded project Front Window at the Unity Theatre, Liverpool in 2008, and was involved in devising, designing, making and performing the show. Chris is talented in all these areas. He is a brilliant, reliable team player, and always approaches work with commitment and boundless good humour.“
Ashley Shairp, LIPA

"I employed Chris on several “Pathways to Impact” as part of major science projects by the Natural Environment Resources Council through the University of Liverpool 2016-19. Together we created multiple series of videos using combinations of drawn, stop-motion and computer-generated animation. I already knew that Chris was a multi-skilled visual artist from our work on Front Window, but he also developed new photographic and software techniques to meet the video challenges. Chris was integral to the devising progress, his imagination and wit had material impact on the video outputs. His energy, flexibility and intelligence compliment his impressive artistic practice to make him a joy to work with.”
Andy Heath, Physics Research Fellow at LJMU

"I’ve most recently worked with Christopher in 2023 and 2024 where he taught participants basics of puppetry and then directed the puppetry element of the Yellow and Blue Submarine Parade in Liverpool. No one I know can bring inanimate objects to life like he can. He is an amazing pedagogue but also a fantastic performer. Participants during these events thoroughly enjoyed working with Chris. He liaised with the makers and taught people with no previous puppetry experience how to work with them. Furthermore, in line with the marine theme of the parade he created a sense of community and belonging amongst his school of fish, which enhanced everyone’s experience of the parade."
Ulysses Alvarez

I met Chris Murray around 15 years ago when I was a visiting lecturer in puppetry design at LIPA, where he was studying Performance Design. Chris's uniquely imaginative and joyful creative approach to puppetry, performance and improvisation made a lasting impression on me, and he has subsequently worked with the Lantern Company as a performer, puppeteer and designer/maker on many of our events since then.
Chris brings such a wide range of skills and talents to all the roles he has been in with the Lantern Company and his originality in creative approach has always been a great asset to the team as a whole, and to the artistic vision of the projects and events he has been involved in. Chris also performed extensively as a Flamingo puppeteer with our team over several years at Chester Zoo. A true renaissance man!
I wholeheartedly support his creative application and wish him every success with it
Jo Pocock The Lantern Company

I have worked with Chris on several projects over the last few years as a prop maker and an animator. Chris works with precision, great imagination and professionalism. Firstly, Chris co-produced animations stemming from community workshops with a group of women in North Liverpool around the theme of Adverse Childhood Experiences. This work was collaborative in nature and Chris’ approach to making animation accessible was innovative. Chris’ contribution to this interdisciplinary project which brought together theatre, creative writing and animation was invaluable. Secondly, In 2024 Chris worked as a prop-maker on Collective Encounters Community Chronicles. The brief was to created a number of props suitable for a small community tour, and which made best use of recycled materials. We were taken by Chris’ experimental approach in which he brought together the diverse themes of the play to create a cohesive design. Chris produced the props in consultation with me and our community actors, in a timely and efficient manner.
Marianne Matusz, Co-Artistic Director - Collective Encounters