WHO AM I…
I was never going to have an ordinary life… but then again… does anyone…
Born illegitimate, I was adopted as a baby & brought up in a Liverpool Irish family by a dancer & an ex Catholic monk turned adman, who taught me to empty my mind from an early age. The eldest of a creative, caring, crazy wise family, I learned how to Iive, to laugh, to love & to lead.
My early years were spent singing, building, talking, playing with mud & exploring the suburban hinterland of Liverpool. My performing debut was as an Alpine pig, dressed in lederhosen, at Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre. I was three years old. I was clever but easily bored, blessed to grow up at a time when kids had freedom, no internet and the time & space to get bored. My life was social, steady, secure, safe & sane… with sacred summers spent running wild, wandering, wishing, walking & riding in the Welsh mountains. I loved to watch TV & would immerse my imagination in the parallel universe inside the screen. Age 9, I thrived with Miss Prescott, age 10, I survived Miss Gerrard, age 11, I went to Grammar School…
School tried hard to destroy me but I discovered punk, post-punk… I still have an impressive collection of coloured 7” vinyl. I also discovered solo travel & spent my sweet sixteenth, sacred summer in California.
I did what was needed to get to university, the holy grail for a Northern Grammar School girl like me. I wanted to change as Thatcher, tragically, got into power just as I came of age, so I studied law at Sheffield University in the People's Republic of South Yorkshire, and I still do, want to change the world...
I was a terrible student, spending my time performing in Eddie Izzard’s Alternative Productions & anywhere but Sheffield. I dropped out a week before my finals, driven by a need to escape, create & find my calling.
I moved to London & directed TV, a rarity back then for a woman. I worked with some of the greatest artists, actors & musicians on the planet. I wrote music, drama, performed & directed my first short, won a BFI award, worked with the late, great Anthony H. Wilson & exhibited my first fine artwork, co-created with unemployed Liverpudlians at The Tate, Liverpool.
Between jobs I explored… Vietnam, Egypt, Kenya, Seattle, Loas, Thailand, Australia, Bali, Easter Island, New York, Morocco… I created art, songs & films as I travelled, coming home to spend summers on the British festival scene. I still love to sing, build, talk, play with mud & explore.
Sadly, my beautiful, beloved parents died young.
I set off on what is now an eternal Himalayan pilgrimage. My wild, wise, wistful, wandering led me to my husband, my daughter & Buddhism. I worked for the Dalai Lama, using my media & tech skills to campaign, speaking to millions on humanitarian & environmental issues.
I founded my company & not for profit, Beinghuman from a warehouse in East London. An early adopter of technology, I used sound & light to create unique, immersive art experiences… I still do…
I went back to university, Central St. Martins, to study performance art.
I lasted less than a week.
I left London to turn a derelict warehouse in Somerset into a creative hub but my heart called me back to East London, & yes, another warehouse. I sang, performed, exhibited & created art at home & abroad: Brooklyn, Delhi, Kathmandu, Mexico City, Istanbul, Mumbai, Austin, Budapest…
My first solo play won a John Thaw Award, so, yet again I became a student, this time at RADA. During lockdown, there was nowhere to run… I finished my Masters in Text & Performance in 2021 with a distinction. I then started a PhD at The Royal College of Art & now I am based at The Innovation Lab at The Royal College of Art.
My summers are still sacred but now spent running wild, wandering, wishing, writing, wondering & walking in the West Country.
So who am I? I am Gaynor O’Flynn. A cool, clever, compassionate, crazy, wise woman who makes work for other cool, clever, compassionate, crazy, wise humans.
In Beinghuman I have found my calling… to use my creative practice to keep changing, evolving, creating, learning & growing. To serve humanity & the planet & to inspire others to do the same…
Gaynor O’Flynn, London, 2024
