"Seamus Murphy grew up in Ireland and is based in London. He is the recipient of seven World Press Photo awards for his photographic work in Afghanistan, Gaza, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Peru and Ireland. He received The World Understanding Award from POYi in the USA for his work from Afghanistan and a film he made based around this work was nominated for an Emmy and won the Liberty in Media Prize in 2011.
His work has been published and exhibited widely. He has made films for The New Yorker and Channel 4 Television in the UK.
He is the author of four books including 'A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan' (Saqi Books. 2008) is based on 12 trips to the country between 1994 and 2007 and is a chronicle of Afghanistan’s extraordinary recent history. 'I Am The Beggar of the World' (Farrar Straus Giroux. 2014) offers a rare glimpse into the lives of Afghan women through their anonymous Landay poetry.
He has collaborated with musician PJ Harvey on projects for 'Let England Shake' and 'The Hope Six Demolition Project,' for which he won a Q Award for Best Music Film in October 2016. Patti Smith listed Murphy’s film for Harvey’s 'The Words that Maketh Murder' as one of her Top 10 artworks, saying “... this unheralded piece (directed by Seamus Murphy) is a wisp of humanity celebrating the small things. “
Murphy and Harvey together published 'The Hollow of the Hand' (Bloomsbury. 2015) a book of his photography and her poetry. An exhibition and live presentation of 'The Hollow of the Hand' work took place at the Royal Festival Hall, London in 2015 and at Les Recontres d’Arles in France in 2016.
His latest book 'The Republic' (Allen Lane. 2016) is an immediate and personal portrait of Ireland and was exhibited at The Little Museum in Dublin in 2017.
His latest film 'A Dog Called Money,' another collaboration with Polly Jean Harvey, is currently screening around the world.