Y. Malik Jala: Pallbearer | Laura Stinger: The Spigot Makes the Mouth Real
1411 Newton Street Los Angeles, CA 90021
Friday, September 5 at 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Ends Oct 18, 2025
Murmurs is pleased to present Pallbearer, a solo exhibition by Y. Malik Jalal opening Friday, September 5th from 5–8pm in the main gallery. This new body of work continues Jalal’s exploration of interiors and the tensions between domestic and vehicular space. For this exhibition, he turns toward fantasy, the poetics of ruin, and the economy of loss, drawing from the material languages of junkyards and found photography. This marks the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.
Y. Malik Jalal (b. 1994, Savannah, Georgia) utilizes traditional craft and collage techniques to explore themes of Black history, power and humanity. By merging materials like steel and iron with an index of found photos depicting Black American family life in unexpected and intimate moments, he addresses the transformation of industries and inequalities, referencing both the legacy of metal artisans in the South and pop culture. His work combines African customs with violent American events, incorporating symbols from advertising and Black horror to reflect collective anxiety. Influenced by Islam, Christianity, and Spiritualism, Jalal’s art forms a multifaceted expression of Blackness, drawing from diverse perspectives and critiquing societal norms.
Y. Malik Jalal lives and works between New York and Atlanta, Georgia. He earned his MFA from Yale University in 2024 and his BA from Oglethorpe University in 2016. Recent exhibitions include MARCH, New York, NY (2024), April in Paris, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2024), Jack Barrett, New York, NY (2024), Yossi Milo, New York, NY (2023), et al., San Francisco, CA (2023), Coleman Art Center, York, AL (2021), Institute 193, Lexington, KY (2021), Alabama Contemporary Art Center, Mobile, AL (2021), among others. Jalal has curated group exhibitions at The Hi-Lo Press and the High Rise Exhibition.
Image: Y. Malik Jalal "SPAN NO. 2," 2024
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Murmurs is pleased to announce The Spigot Makes the Mouth Real, a solo exhibition by Laura Stinger opening September 5th from 5-8pm in the front gallery. This marks the artist’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles.
The Spigot Makes the Mouth Real explores the hidden intersections of resource extraction, AI, energy storage, and ecological grief through ceramic sculptures and performance. Central to the exhibition is their study of the lithium mining process, both as a material reality and a metaphor for the emotional and physical toll of extractive systems. Their work examines how bodies, tools, and technologies are entangled in cycles of labor, loss, and commodification. By revealing the invisible material and emotional residue of these processes, Stinger asks us to reconsider our complicity and capacity for care.
Laura Stinger (b. Palo Alto, CA) is an LA-based artist who holds an MFA in Ceramics from Cal State University Long Beach in 2024 and a BFA from NYU School of the Arts in Experimental Performance in 2012. Recent exhibitions & performances include Zaratan Contemporary, Lisbon, Portugal; Pieter Space, Los Angeles, CA; Performance Space 122 New York; The New Museum, New York, among others.