In his paintings, Magee creates an illusory world of motifs in which figures and flora from Europe, Asia and the Americas, sit together and evoke a sense of not belonging. The paintings explore ideas of cultural authenticity in a world where the validity of culture has been deregulated by the internet.
In uniting divergent influences including icon painting, early Japanese photography, ukiyo-e prints, botanical illustration and religious imagery, Magee bombards his paintings with an overwhelming mix of patterning, colour and form.
The themes that emerge are of beauty, religiosity and femininity. This, the artist believes, arrives from his childhood, spent in a rural convent school where he was surrounded by images of Mary and grottos in honour of her. One of the reasons that the portraits of Japanese geisha, wrapped so ornately in cloth, resonate with Magee is that he has found a doorway through which he can explore the wonder of his own childhood.
Andy Magee
Please click on the thumbnails below to view larger images
