Thomas Flynn II

artist statement

My current body of work explores the forest as a metaphor for the perception of self.  Integration of body, landscape, and mind through multilayered sculptural paintings rooted in personal narratives and lived experiences as a transplant in the American South. These pieces echo a process of self-discovery and reflection, drawing on a visual lexicon of symbols to represent shifting emotional states and internal journeys. The forest and the body emerge as central motifs—sites of transformation, concealment, and revelation.

In Appalachian folk wisdom, the forest holds a dual significance: it is revered as a powerful, sentient force, and simultaneously seen as a place of caution—an ecosystem in which we exist as inhabitants, visitors, or prey. This duality informs the forest imagery in my work, where twisting forms camouflage hidden elements—fragments of bodies and organic shapes that emerge or recede depending on the viewer’s perspective. As a non-native to this region, the inherent understanding of how the landscape functions in the collective historical psyche is fascinating and acts as a guide to navigate internal and often hidden structures.

My color palette is inspired by my chronic aura migraines which create a layered perception onto the landscape, blurring the lines between native and invasive color. Each painting begins as acrylic on flat canvas, layered with washes and gestural brushstrokes. From this foundation, the work can take multiple forms: it may remain as a raw-edged flat piece, be stretched onto a support, or be cut and reassembled onto hand-constructed wooden shapes. These wooden forms are cut by hand, using either manufactured or locally sourced wood.  I use a variety of painting techniques to depict different levels of excursions into the forested landscape of my consciousness to understand and alchemize the stagnant places and fragments of my past. This compartmentalization and collaging of memories are important to the work, as they serve as tools to discern the future.

At the heart of my practice is a desire to gaze longingly inward, seeing a dense forest blotting out the sun instead of a series of rooms in the psyche.  The forest, like the self, is in constant flux: dying, regenerating, and persisting. My work creates a parallel world drenched in color and layered with bodily and cosmic silhouettes.  These paintings collage experiences, memories, and dreams into landscapes that appear to be on the threshold of oblivion – on the cusp of understanding the true nature of what lies beneath.