Zora J Murff sees himself as an artist who happens to be Black living in a society that believes in race.

“My work takes a look at the pathology of white supremacy, and trying to use photography, imagery, art as a way of exploring the realities of that predicament,” Murff said.

In Corrections, Murff leveraged his experience working as a social worker with juvenile offenders to shine a light on disparities and systemic issues inside the criminal justice system.

At No Point in Between took Murff to North Omaha, NE, where the federal government’s practice of redlining has had lasting social and economic impacts on a traditionally Black neighborhood.

“I wanted to consider the many different levels of structural violence,” Murff said.

With American Mother, American Father, Murff got personal, pointing his camera at himself and family members as a way to work through the knots of racial marginalization.

True Colors pulls together all of these themes, using pieces from Murff’s life and works to tell a broader story about race and white supremacy.

“I describe it as a manual for coming to terms with being Black in America,” Murff said.

Murff’s groundbreaking work on race and social justice led the International Center of Photography to honor him with the 2023 Infinity Award for Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism.

While he continues to focus his art on the issues surrounding race in America, he wishes it wasn’t necessary.

“If my art could do all of the things that I wanted it to do to create a world where I felt that I could live at ease, it would no longer be necessary for it to exist,” Murff said.