Interview with David Magee

David Magee

David Magee (b.1963) is an Irish Artist. He was born and raised in Cork, Ireland and studied Fine Art at Crawford Municipal School of Art, Cork. In 1982, he attended Glasgow School of Art & Design. He has been the recipient of numerous awards including more recently, The Paris Photography Prize (PX3) - The Lucie Awards, New York, - Tokyo International Foto Awards. Outside, a twenty-five year retrospective, was published to international acclaim in 2017. He has exhibited globally, his works are held in both private and municipal collections. Having travelled extensively, it is the Irish landscape, particularly the Atlantic coastline, that has become the focus of his work in recent years. It is his home, the source of his subject matter and the inspiration for his work. Magee lives and works between his homes in West Cork and London.

davidmageephotography.com

Charlotte Parkin

Head of Marketing & Sub Editor for On Landscape. Dabble in digital photography, open water swimmer, cooking buff & yogi.

Introduction

We published David's article about his exhibition 'Atlanic' in October 2020, of which some of the images are in this article. Living near the Atlantic ourselves, I share David's passion for the coastline. The words at the end of the interview really resonated with me:

"To hear the waves crash against the sheer walls,
to see the gulls swooping down against white-foamed surf,
and to feel the ocean spray, wet and cool against your face… that’s The Old Head”

David's background in graphic design and understanding of the tone of voice, detail and composition all play a part in the making of his images.

What sparked your passion for photography?

In all honesty, the answer is more ‘who’ than ‘what’. It was before the internet, before the digital revolution, and certainly before the advent of social media. My very first weekend at Glasgow School of Art in 1982 was spent on a photographic field trip to Culzean Castle, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It was there that I first met Thomas Joshua Cooper, who headed up the Fine Art Photography department. I was immediately captivated by the euphoric intensity of his passion for photography as an art form. To this day I have met few people who are as genuinely dedicated to the art they produce. Prior to this meeting, I had never fully acknowledged photography as a true Art form. Thomas has been without compare - my greatest inspiration.