'Blacklock has a lexicon of gestural motifs, which he brings into play, one with the other, on the canvas. Ellipses equate to figures, one responding to another to introduce a sense of narrative into the dynamics of the image. In these images, which find their inspiration in alchemy and the work of alchemists and magicians, Blacklock’s circles equate to the fizzing and whirring of ideas in creative space as these set off mini-explosions in the minds of creatives. Where thinned paint drips from these circles, a sense of frustration or weeping is evoked. The colouration of these works also relates to times of day — morning, evening, sunset, night — to add to the sense of time passing and different relationships occurring within times and spaces.
Although there is nothing overt about particular religious narratives in his work, as he has an open attitude to where the painting comes from, he notes, nevertheless, that the “studio narrative” of his “Magician’s Garden” series “definitely has the Garden at Gethsemane within it”, and the “weeping shapes” definitely have Donatello’s Mary Magdalene within his obsession with them.'
Other of my pieces for Church Times can be found here. My writing for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Artlyst are here, those for Seen & Unseen are here, and those for Art+Christianity are here.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunny Day Real Estate - The Rising Tide.
