Brian Flynn – Recognized
to
Herringer Kiss Gallery 101-1615 10 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T3C 0J7
Brian Flynn, "Recognized," 2020
oil and photo transfer on canvas, 72” x 96”
Flynn – Recognized
Scheduled Meet the Artist Appointments
Saturday, February 27th at 11:00, 12:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00.
Call 403-228-4889 or email deborah@herringerkissgallery.com to book.
Calgary artist, Brian Flynn’s latest body of work continues his interest in social constructions and his family’s ties to politics in Ireland. Using oil paint and photo-transfers as mediums, Brian recreates figures from both his family’s history as well as Ireland’s turbulent politicized past. The subjects in his work either held specific agendas in outlawed political organizations or were those who have been affected by these agendas. Brian’s process of layering and obscuring, protecting identity while simultaneously wiping it out, is an artistic exercise of the very activities that members of the resistance practiced during the Troubles as a means of self-preservation to avoid detection during oppressive times.
Brian Flynn recently spent time documenting Fork Hill – the village where his family is from and still lives. A border town, Fork Hill was the most occupied town in Northern Ireland’s history. As of July 31, 2007, the British military finally completely pulled out of the area.
Brian’s interest in documenting this area's history focuses on the role of identity and place in the context of conflict. Brian spent time interviewing former IRA members regarding their activities, specifically in relation to his grandfather's house located twenty feet from the border which divides Northern and Southern Ireland. The house was used as a staging point for IRA maneuvers against the British army posted in the area. How do you tell a story that must remain faceless, nameless, and without evidence?