Fintan Magee

{{Short description|Australian artist}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}

File:Fintan Magee painting a collab mural with Numskull in Newtown.jpg

Fintan Magee is an Australian street artist known for his murals throughout Australia and the world. Born in Lismore, New South Wales, he grew up in Brisbane, gaining a reputation as a graffiti writer before obtaining a fine arts degree and relocating to Sydney.

Work

File:Djerba Er Riadh Street Art 07.JPG, Tunisia{{Cite book|last=Ben Cheikh|first= Mehdi|title=Djerbahood : le musée de street art à ciel ouvert |publisher=Albin Michel |year=2015}}]]

He has been described as "Australia's Banksy"{{Cite web|url=http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/06/the-australian-banksy-strikes-with-a-gigantic-optical-illusion/395945/|title=This 'Australian Banksy' Mural Is a Gigantic Optical Illusion|access-date=2016-07-07}}{{Cite web|url=http://northwestwalls.be/artist/fintan-magee/|title=Fintan Magee – North West Walls|access-date=2016-07-07|archive-date=2 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202214026/http://northwestwalls.be/artist/fintan-magee/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/australian-banksy-makes-optical-illusion-308581|title=Australian Banksy Fintan Magee Hits His Mark with Wild Optical Illusion {{!}} artnet News|date=2015-06-16|access-date=2016-07-07}} by a number of media outlets although Magee has stated in various interviews that he hates this and has stated it is a result of "lazy journalism".{{Cite web |title=The Price We Pay – Sea Walls |url=https://seawalls.org/mural/the-price-we-pay/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=seawalls.org}}

His work often deals with environmental issues. In 2015 his solo show at Backwoods Gallery in Melbourne was themed around his own personal experiences in the 2011 Brisbane floods.{{Cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/fintan-magee-art-flooded-with-memory-20151203-glefs5.html|title=Fintan Magee: art flooded with memory|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=2016-07-07}} He often uses personal stories to talk about broader issues like climate change and the migrant crisis.

He received national acclaim for his mural depicting Felix Baumgartner in Brisbane,[http://www.news.com.au/technology/fintan-magee-creates-arresting-street-art-tribute-to-felix-baumgartner-in-brisbane/story-e6frfro0-1226504015459 "Fintan Magee creates arresting street art tribute to Felix Baumgartner in Brisbane"] by Erinna Giblin, News.com.au, 26 October 2012 and has participated in various public art festivals in Australia and abroad. Along with other recognised street artists from around Australia, Magee contributed to Toowoomba's "First Coat" program.[http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/news/agriculture/rural-lifestyle/general-news/toowoombas-streets-of-art/2689703.aspx "Toowoomba's streets of art"] by Kate Stark, Queensland Country Life, 1 March 2014

Family background

Fintan has Irish, English and Australian ancestry, his father is from Derry in Northern Ireland and his mother is English born. His maternal grandfather, who was from Woollahra in Sydney, had an architectural practice in Ghana, West Africa.

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • [http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/inside-the-magical-world-of-australias-banksy/story-fni0cx12-1226864551522 "Inside the magical world of Australia's 'Banksy{{'"}}], The Daily Telegraph Sydney, 25 March 2014
  • [http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/from-west-end-to-comparisons-with-banksy-the-tale-of-fintan-mcgee-1226864551522-35qdm.html "From Westend to Comparisons with Banksy"]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Brisbane Times, 24 March 2014
  • http://www.streetartbio.com/single-post/2016/04/20/Galleria-Varsi-presents-Fintan-Magee