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PJ Harvey has released eight critically acclaimed albums, been nominated for six Grammy Awards, and is the only artist to have been awarded the UK's prestigious Mercury Prize twice (for her albums Stories from the City, Stories From The Sea and Let England Shake). In 2013, she was awarded an MBE for services to music. The Hollow of the Hand is her first published collection of poetry. Seamus Murphy has documented life and change around the world in still and moving images. He has won seven World Press Photo awards for work in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Gaza, Lebanon, Peru, Ireland and England. His depiction of Afghanistan and the Afghans over more than a decade was published as a book, A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan. He later made this into an award-winning film. In 2011, he created 12 Short Films for PJ Harvey's Let England Shake.
Prepare to have your conscience shaken Daily Telegraph Precision and a sense of artistry ... Murphy's photographs have an ability to capture war without judgement ... An uplifting exploration of a brutal subject The Times Astonishing ... Mesmerising ... By turns harrowing, evocative, poignant and, yes, even humorous. Ultimately, the words and pictures are testament to undiminished human resilience ... Spellbinding ... Fascinating and occasionally disturbing Sun Excellent ... The imagery suggests an unhealing national bruise, one still so tender that blood might flow at any time ... At once celebratory and deflated ... The Hollow of the Hand is a sincere and sincerely impressive collection Independent Murphy's stories and films Illuminate Harvey's crisply enunciated poems as well as his own arresting images ... Punchy and vivid Guardian Their combined reportage consists of a series of stark images, lyrical and visual ... Pictures of airstrike aftermaths, and Afghans with faces like novels **** Evening Standard A well-produced collaboration. Both contain striking imagery. Murphy - who has won seven World Press Photo awards - has an original eye and a storyteller's sense of an unfolding narrative New Statesman This book is as handsomely produced as its subjects are in dire straits ... Heartfelt and serious ... Every picture tells a story ... Murphy's eye unites one subject with the next. He is especially good at taking photographs of figures in a landscape overwhelmed by the vastness. I loved the extraordinary pictures of Afghanistan's beautiful, hostile and seemingly endless horizons Observer Murphy emphasises the resilience and continuation of life amidst immense turmoil ... As with Murphy's images, Harvey's poetry is full of empathic insight and the central focus is on common humanity ... In her collaborations with Murphy, Harvey is not only asking difficult questions, but pushing against the restrictions usually placed on artists to stay within a certain remit or medium Quietus Extraordinary ... A remarkable portfolio of images shared with the audience that, at times, have the ability to draw out the humour in the haunting ... Deeply poignant **** Morning Star
