HIP TO THE CAUSE

a solo exhibition by Norman O’Flynn

5 - 26 November 2026

Interior with Warhol by Norman O’Flynn | Acrylic on plexiglass | 95cm x 80cm.

Norman O’Flynn holds up a mirror to a culture of choosing sides

WORLDART presents HIP TO THE CAUSE, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Norman O’Flynn, opening on Thursday 5 November 2026 and running until Thursday 26 November 2026. In these works, O’Flynn’s signature empty interiors become portraits of allegiance – rooms in which every book, sculpture and figurine signals who lives there and what they stand for.

Norman O’Flynn’s recent paintings are rooms without people. They are filled with the things we choose to live with: books, sculptures, works by artists such as Lichtenstein, Haring and Kaws, and superhero figurines from childhood. Yet the chairs are always empty. We never meet the occupants; we only come to know them through what they have chosen to put on display.

In HIP TO THE CAUSE, that quiet act of display takes on a sharper edge. The objects, slogans and symbols we surround ourselves with are no longer simply a matter of taste – they have become statements of allegiance. We support causes, share them and wear them, often less out of conviction than out of a need to be seen on the right side. Social media rewards this performance and punishes nuance, steadily pushing us into opposing camps where there is little room for doubt, debate or middle ground.

O’Flynn’s rooms read like carefully curated profiles, with every item placed to signal who lives there and what they stand for. He leaves out walls and ceilings, so these private spaces are never sealed off from the world outside, and ideas, opinions and pressures flow freely in and out. His technique heightens the effect: he paints in reverse on the back of acrylic glass, so each image is seen through a glossy, reflective surface – much like the screens through which we now encounter one another. Pop art has always borrowed the language of advertising and mass culture. O’Flynn uses that same bright, instantly recognisable vocabulary to hold up a mirror to a culture in which being seen to care can matter more than caring.

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Exhibition: HIP TO THE CAUSE – a solo exhibition by Norman O’Flynn
Opening night: Thursday 5 November 2026, 6 – 9pm
Exhibition runs: 5 – 26 November 2026
Venue: WORLDART, 68 Long Street, Cape Town
Gallery hours: Mo – Fri 10 - 5pm. Sat 10 - 1pm. Closed Sundays & public holidays

MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Charl Bezuidenhout, Gallery Director, WORLDART
charl@worldart.co.za | 082 901 5045
High-resolution images and interviews with the artist are available on request.