PAUL RAYMOND
Blobby Blobby Blobby!!!!
September 2022 – July 2023
Paul Raymond is an artist and arts educator based in the North East of England. He creates artwork using a variety of media ranging from drawing, collage and sculpture – to animation, installation and performance.
Paul’s work often deals with themes of nostalgia, haunting, temporality, play and regression. He is interested in exploring ideas around art production in educational environments, especially in the current climate, in which “value” is heavily dependent upon outcome.
His recent practice is inspired by the derogatory term, “The Blob”, popularised in politics by Michael Gove during his role as Education Secretary. Gove used this term (based on the 1958 sci-fi horror film) to deride academics, teachers and teaching unions who stood in the way of his arguably regressive teaching reforms, labelling anyone who opposed him as being part of “The Blob”.
Paul is currently at Sunderland University on the AA2A scheme to pursue exploratory investigations into materials and allow these interactions to shape and develop ideas.
Instagram: @raymondterrific
"We discussed Paul's work when he did an artists talk and I liked how he had multiple links in his work such as nostalgia, childhood and politics."
"I had a 1:1 tutorial with Paul when WORKING ON my A level project and I found it very beneficial. he gave me a new perspective on my project and we both had similar art inspirations, so it was great to work with him."
EXHIBITION
BLOBBY BLOBBY BLOBBY!!!
October 2024
BLOBBY, BLOBBY, BLOBBY!!! Reflected a society (and an educational system) haunted by the past and arguably obsessed with repetition, pastiche and infantilisation.
Raymond expanded upon methodologies used during his Freelands Foundation MAKE residency in 2021, allowing his interactions with materials to shape and develop ideas. He aimed to harness the powerful and chaotic force of ‘The Blob’ as a way of counteracting the rigid systems in which we operate.
