Darren Banks, Big Blob On Small Paper, 2006

The word blob conjures up quite a specific image, an indistinct or shapeless form/object, or a soft lump of something such as paint or glue. The use of the word 'blob' suggests a passive ambiguity, a fear of the unknown, something which could be seen as a threat, a menacing creature which has no regard for rationalization, something happy to exist without logical explanation.Banks' interest in horror and b movies such as John Carpenter's 1982 horror, "The Thing", Larry Cohen's 1985, "The Stuff" and 1958 cult classic, "The Blob" by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. become a kind of historical reference point. The movies protagonists parallel the viewers need for understanding. In the case of the films' this often means a way to destroy the alien entity through understanding its physical make up, much in the same way that the viewer dissects a piece of art work. From the outside the 'blob' drawing series seem an impenetrable mass, they imitate and suggest something with function and or purpose. However as you get closer and explore their intensely built up surface you come to the realization that each line only serves to support the next, its only function becomes the need to show a visual mapping of working through problems to get to a resolution. From this point you are confronted with a process which is in the end the blobs' sole purpose, a cyclical act of constant evolving.

Darren Banks

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Darren Banks