STREET artist Fintan Magee knows his murals have an expiration date, but he was devastated when one of his more recent works in Newtown was removed after just nine months.

His mural of an archer in Church St, Newtown, was recently painted over after a communication breakdown between the property owner and tenants renting the building.

After realising the mistake, Philip Sidebottom from the group who owns the building commissioned Magee to paint a new mural in collaboration with street artist Numbskull.

media_camera The new mural on Church St in Newtown Picture: Damian Shaw media_camera Fintan Magee’s mural before it was painted over.

Magee said seeing the original mural get painted over was disappointing.

“I think coming from a graffiti background and moving into street art, you learn to accept that’s the nature of producing work on the street,” Magee said.

“As you paint something, you have the idea it will be gone in a few years. This only lasted about nine months.”

Rather then recreate the archer, Magee painted a woman trying to communicate with a man using tin can and string, with the phone wires running between the shaped painted by Numbskull.

media_camera Fintan Magee's mural at the Tryp Hotel in Fortitude Valley Brisbane for travel feature on Brisbane in Summer.

“His work is quite abstract and mine is figurative ... and I was trying to figure out how to tie the works in together,” Magee said.

“I came up with the idea of phone wires connecting everything. I think with street artists, first of all you react with space.

“That wall is incredibly difficult as it has a lot of doors, windows and airconditioning units so there are a lot of obstacles to get around.

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Magee said he liked the mural’s narrative of the woman talking to herself through the phone and not being able to listen, and that it’s a hidden story and something people will talk about.

Magee said his work had taken off over the last two years, which was nice as many artists go through a period of self-doubt and struggle.

He has an upcoming group exhibition in Canberra opening on March 26.

media_camera Work by Fintan Magee in Sydney.

MAGEE’S WORKS

● Fintan Magee’s latest work Man Bites Dog will be exhibited as part of PROTEST, a group exhibition opening at M16 Art Space in Canberra on March 26

● In the inner west his work can be found on Kent and Church streets and King Lane in Newtown, Hay St, Leichhardt, Alice St, Enmore and in Marrickville and Stanmore

● His work can also be seen as far away as Colombia, Argentina, Copenhagen, London, New Zealand and across the US