Since the 1980s the craft of turning wood on a lathe by hand has been used less for making parts of furniture or architectural fittings, such as chair legs or balusters, and more to explore the expressive potential of the medium and materials. Liam Flynn is arguably the most prominent active Irish turner. His work is part of the classic tradition of turning that favours simple forms derived ultimately from Modernist sculpture, and a desire to exploit the inherent characteristics of wood. The consistently thin wall demonstrates the turner's control of his process. The ebonized (blackened) surface and carved pattern help to give more definition to the contours produced by the lathe turning, while not obliterating the material presence of the oak from which it is made.