BAN

Translation of the article: BAN - surprising, striking and often funny Museum Overschie is hosting a surprising exhibition. The artwork of BAN - who lives in Overschie - varies enormously and from 19 January to 13 April, you can experience a collection of his ‘paperings’ and statues. ‘Paperings’ is what BAN names his technique of making images by tearing up books, envelopes and paper. Dyslexic, BAN finds it ‘wonderful to tear up books’ - he uses glue and paper as a form of paint. ‘Dictionaries give a beautiful skin texture - it has different thicknesses of letter on a page and this reminds me of human skin.’ The images he creates as a result are indeed striking and surprising. What visitors will also discover is that the subjects of his work are often political (e.g. Child Benefits’ Scandal 1) and makes the viewer think of social commentary, history (but from domestic references such as tiles in a shower or kitchen) and are also sometimes funny - one of the artworks is titled Dried Delft blue dog poo. His ‘Delftware’ collection gives a modern twist to Delftware tiles - which were mostly made in Rotterdam! - and visitors will often find the titles of his work funny - sometimes ironic, certainly unexpected, occasionally cheeky. There's a story behind them, of course, but the visitor will have to make that up for themselves if they don't bump into BAN at the Museum! BAN lived in Ireland for 12 years and this Catholic context and influence is a recurring theme, with gentle and beautiful statues of Mary alongside more ironic reflections on the Catholic faith. By reusing materials, unusual compositions of fabrics - lego, burlap, wood, textiles, glass - emerge and BAN can be spotted in secondhand shops, looking for old frames. So a visit to the Museum to see the exhibition is sure to surprise and entertain you, and make you think about a wide range of topics. The artworks are also for sale if you want to take BAN's unique vision home!