MEET THE MAKER – David Alexander Flinn
With the addition of the new fragrance ‘Y’ to the YSL catalogue, the well-seasoned fragrance house teams up with three different artists and a talented creative team to form a campaign that celebrates the makers out there. Meet David Alexander Flinn, a sculptor, filmmaker, artist and model; YSL talks to him about what motivates, challenges and inspires him in his pursuit of fulfilment.
How do you forge your own individuality in a world of individuals?
It all comes down to how honest you can be with yourself and your ability to accept your strengths and your flaws. Individuality is in all of us but it comes down to heart, how much do you want it, how hard are you willing to work for it, how many rules will you break and how many times will you stand up after the world has kicked you down? I don’t sit down ever, and I won’t. You make your mark by being kind and honest and true to what it is you feel you can offer to the world that is yours. Don’t listen to what people want you to be; be everything and anything you feel is right.
It can be hard to stay true and honest to your ideas and your motivations. How do you remain focused?
Are there any life rules you live by? I focus on things I want to do, never on what I’m supposed to do. We are animals in the wild that have been told from birth what rules to listen to rather than taught how to listen to our instincts. The answers to living a full life are inside of us, we just haven’t been given the tools, guidance or confidence to accept that. The rule I abide by the most is ‘just be true to yourself, don’t ever compromise who you are’.
Yves Saint Laurent was one of the foremost creative pioneers of his generation; do you see yourself as a pioneer?
I am a pioneer of my life. I don’t know how that will translate into my history or to others’ lives, but I know no one has ever lived my life or done what I’ve done the way I’ve done it. I hope I can inspire people to be kind and courageous and that nothing has gotten me here but hard work and trust in the universe.
What drives you?
Love, life, nature, my dreams, my tears, my fears.
What are the qualities you value in others?
Kindness, empathy, honesty and courage.
Do you think it’s important to create boundaries between your professional life and your personal life?
I think more and more, with all the means of communication we have to engage with the world, it’s super-important for us to remind ourselves what’s real and what’s not, and to live our lives for ourselves and not for others. It’s important to remember to go outside and live and touch and smell and breathe.
What does success mean to you?
Waking up every day and getting to do what I love.
What advice would you give to any young creative people looking for a path?
Be courageous. Be you and don’t ever apologise for it. And educate yourself: power comes from knowledge.
You are a polymath in the truest sense of the word. A sculptor, a filmmaker, an artist and an erstwhile model. Do you think its important to ‘be’ more than one thing today?
It’s important to me to be curious and to stay humble; I will always be a student of life and open to every experience. It’s important to be able to step back and look at everything in its entirety; everything is connected, everything has a back story and an alternate point of view.
You have grown up between America and Italy; how have those two cultures influenced your take on the world and the work you produce?
Most definitely, living between those two was an incredibly polarising experience; the duality taught me a lot about empathy and challenged my identity, to an extreme, from a very young age. I had to know who I was without the comforts of the stability and consistency of a lot of kids. I take this as a gift today, as I feel comfortable everywhere and anywhere I go. I am my home.
What was it that compelled you to move in the world of art?
I just loved making things I had never seen, and it was something that allowed me to be myself and connect with the world… felt like my place. My background was causing trouble, and art was a place where my voice and the trouble I was starting could be translated into something constructive.
Which projects are you working on now?
You seem to have a knack for spinning many plates all at once. I am working on my first book, which will include poetry, essays, photography and drawings. And I am in production of my solo show Dreams, Tears and Fears, which will open on August 9 and run until October 15 in New York City.
Where do you find inspiration – what helps you to produce better work?
Nature has always been my muse. She keeps me humble and I am always in awe of her.
How do you maintain your integrity when you are trying your hand at so many things?
It must be difficult switching from model to artist and back again. I don’t try to do anything. I just listen to the universe and myself and when it’s time to do it, I do it. I’ve never really been a model in my eyes, I’ve always been hired for who I am, and the person I was helps, coming from a good genetic pool, but I guess I never gave my looks much importance always, [I] just tried to focus on the energy I was giving off and the ideas I had to share. Integrity just comes from empathy. I’ve had every job under the sun and I’ve worked really hard since I was 15, so I appreciate every person that works hard and shows up, no matter what they do.
How important is style to you?
It’s a manifestation of how I feel internally and the mood I’m in. I love cinema and character development is in every detail: a vintage T-shirt or a pair of cowboy boots… and their story can make or break a character’s authenticity. I often feel the same about style in life. I don’t do distressed jeans, I buy new jeans and I break them in and I tell my story.
How do you feel when you have created a new piece of artwork?
Does it motivate you to work more? I create something every day [even] if it’s a doodle on a napkin, or a photograph of a palm tree or a note in my notebook. More is not important to me, it’s to be open and receptive to be able to capture the moment.
