Brian Flynn
USA/Ireland
Carpet underlay is usually unseen and purely functional. It is used underneath carpets in homes and offices, and is a common component in most buildings. Carpet underlay, however, can have darker associations. As it is usually covered, immobile, and in a way connected to the earth, it also has links with death and deterioration.
I have chosen carpet underlay as the support for my work because I am interested in how such a material – no longer hidden on the floor, but put on the wall – can be transformed when its context is reconstructed. By creating a potentially dubious portrait out of the material, I can play on the work’s ominous undertones. The image in Seamus looks like an icon or a newspaper image, yet it strikes a cord with everyone as it points towards our increased isolation and disconnectedness.
(Text: on the border of each other catalogue, 2003)
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