Tom Flint's significant oil on canvas, measuring three by three feet, is a profound meditation on process, evolution, and the emergence of life from the inanimate. The work’s genesis was a small, preliminary drawing (Other Echoes Inhabit The Garden, Ink on Paper), which then evolved through a transformative and intuitive journey over eighteen months. This extended period of creation was crucial, allowing the painting to reveal its own narrative, moving beyond its initial concept to find its final, powerful form.
A persistent, haunting presence throughout its creation was Arnold Böcklin’s masterpiece, The Isle of the Dead. While not a direct source for imitation, its powerful, elegiac atmosphere lingered in the artist's subconscious, informing the sombre and contemplative mood of the piece.
The island itself is rendered as a monolithic, living entity. There is a palpable sense that the landmass breathes, possessing a humanistic quality. The palette is both earthy and visceral; deep tones are interwoven with purples, reds and blues. These colours form translucent glazes that evoke the presence of skin, hinting at a subcutaneous network of veins and blood. Geometric, almost brutalist, structures appear to emerge organically from the rock, blurring the line between the natural and the fabricated, as if the island itself is giving birth to its own architecture.
Initially conceived with more explicit architectural features, these were gradually painted out in a process of reduction that deepens the work’s mystery. The viewer is left to contemplate a central valley or opening, a space of pure potential, leaving the question of inhabitants unanswered and entirely to the imagination. With its rich, complex textures and layered application of paint, this is a silent, commanding work that speaks for itself.
Tom Flint's significant oil on canvas, measuring three by three feet, is a profound meditation on process, evolution, and the emergence of life from the inanimate. The work’s genesis was a small, preliminary drawing (Other Echoes Inhabit The Garden, Ink on Paper), which then evolved through a transformative and intuitive journey over eighteen months. This extended period of creation was crucial, allowing the painting to reveal its own narrative, moving beyond its initial concept to find its final, powerful form.
A persistent, haunting presence throughout its creation was Arnold Böcklin’s masterpiece, The Isle of the Dead. While not a direct source for imitation, its powerful, elegiac atmosphere lingered in the artist's subconscious, informing the sombre and contemplative mood of the piece.
The island itself is rendered as a monolithic, living entity. There is a palpable sense that the landmass breathes, possessing a humanistic quality. The palette is both earthy and visceral; deep tones are interwoven with purples, reds and blues. These colours form translucent glazes that evoke the presence of skin, hinting at a subcutaneous network of veins and blood. Geometric, almost brutalist, structures appear to emerge organically from the rock, blurring the line between the natural and the fabricated, as if the island itself is giving birth to its own architecture.
Initially conceived with more explicit architectural features, these were gradually painted out in a process of reduction that deepens the work’s mystery. The viewer is left to contemplate a central valley or opening, a space of pure potential, leaving the question of inhabitants unanswered and entirely to the imagination. With its rich, complex textures and layered application of paint, this is a silent, commanding work that speaks for itself.
