Idris Murphy’s paintings, inspired so often by his native land, are effective because they impart the experience of an artist who has truly entered that terrain. During frequent inland and coastal visits, generally with students, to places such as Fowlers Gap, the Myall Lakes, Seal Rocks and Kakadu, Murphy works in situ immersing himself in his surroundings. The major resulting studio paintings bring to the surface the power and poetry of the memory through the actual process of creation.
– Nick Waterlow, Curator, 2007 (catalogue essay)
