Michael Corrigan is a fine art photographer whose new exhibition reflects on what lies at the edge of the land, sea and sky …
“I believe that I have always had a heightened visual awareness, looking back now. I’ve always been stimulated by visual images. I loved comics and cartoons from an early age. Visual art in general and photography in particular has always struck a real chord with me. My father always brought home The Irish Times and every evening I loved going through it. Many of the staff photographers, such as Peter Thursfield, often took pictures intended as interesting images in themselves. I’ve always perceived photography as a type of language that could communicate in ways that words could not.”
“My real starting point as a photographer was when my fellow students in college chipped in to buy me an SLR Olympus OMI0 for my 21st birthday. I never looked back. Shortly afterwards, I joined the Dublin Camera Club, which was, and still is, a nurturing and encouraging environment for fledgling photographers. Members such as Eddie Chandler, Peter Donovan and Meta Gale were particular influences.”
‘Brittas Bay, Wicklow’
“I later joined the photography Co-Op, Irish Eyes. Fellow members Tony O’Shea, Rod Tuach and David Farrell brought an important integrity to their work, and were a great example to me. An absolute mecca for photographers in Ireland in the late ’70s and ’80s was John Osmond’s Gallery of Photography on the Quays in Dublin. The exhibitions that it held have had an undoubted and continuing influence on me, as have the resources currently made available by the Photo Museum of Ireland and Photo Ireland’s International Centre for the Image in North Wall. I would love to think that photography is becoming more mainstream and is viewed as an integral part of the art scene now.”
‘Booterstown’
“The photographs in my new exhibition ‘Margins’ are influenced by my love of works by landscape photographers such as Edward Weston, Josef Sudek, Ansel Adams, Faye Godwin, and more contemporary photographers Michael Kenna, Jeffrey Conley, Rob Kolbrener and Paul Hart.
While I exhibited in recent times in the Royal Hibernian Academy and with the Paul Kane Gallery, this is my first solo exhibition in decades. Until recently, I wasn’t able to give my photography the priority it deserves. I was anxious to readdress this with a strong, cohesive, dedicated body of work.
I live close to the coast in Dublin, and have always loved walking along the strand at Blackrock, Booterstown, Sandymount and Ringsend when the tide is out. While a gorgeous resource, I felt that its beauty was often overlooked. I felt that this marginal, at the edge landscape would provide fertile ground for a dedicated body of work. Having started taking photographs so close to home, I then expanded my reach to other coastline regions in Wicklow and Wexford. I wanted each individual image to stand on its own compositional merits and yet still be part of a harmonised body of work.
The images are about the spaces that are peripheral and neglected, regarded often as just a prelude to something more important. They are about the edges of the land, sky and sea where they each meet, merge and blend, and then how the available light moulds, shapes and transforms them.”
‘Magheramore Wicklow III’
“This collection also brings up environmental concerns. Even in the few years since some of the images were taken, their locations have been altered considerably by impactful weather events and rising tides. The integrity of such locations is under continuing threat, and it’s hard not to get a sense that each and every scene portrayed in the photographs will, quite simply, not exist in the very near future.
‘Blainroe, Wicklow’
I’ve always appreciated the importance to Ireland of having a healthy and sustainable art scene. I’ve been involved in many projects over the years to help and assist the arts community generally, and individual artists in particular. I take enormous pleasure and pride from knowing that there are many artworks in private and public venues that would not have existed were it not for these initiatives.
I was a director and chairperson of Visual Artists Ireland for several years. It was a rewarding experience. It gave me a greater insight into, and understanding of, the difficulties and challenges faced by contemporary artists living and working in Ireland. As a country, we often extol the work of artists, using them to promote our unique culture and heritage, but do not necessarily promote the artistic community with the means and support to produce such work. That being said, recent State initiatives such as the Basic Income for the Arts are to be welcomed and applauded; and even, hopefully, expanded in the future. I was privileged to have been elected last year as an honorary member of the RHA for my work in supporting the arts in Ireland.
Photography is an extraordinarily versatile medium. For me, photography gives me an opportunity to express myself in a way that I cannot otherwise achieve. I find it very therapeutic and a real balance to the demands that I face in the rest of my life [Michael is partner at Corrigan & Corrigan Solicitors]. It’s a release. I would find it very challenging to live without it. I also have to confess to having an addiction when it comes to photo books. I adore them. It’s not easy for a photographer to develop their own individual style and voice, but when they do the results can be breathtaking.”
Need to know: “Margins” is at SO Fine Art Editions in Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, Dublin 2, from March 5 until April 4. Meet Michael during an artist’s talk on March 14 at 2.30pm. An accompanying book on Margins is also available to purchase and five lucky readers of THE GLOSS can win a copy by emailing [email protected].
