Aaron makes a soggy and confusing banner

Having read the task brief, Aaron asks what is the best of humanity, before suggesting beauty and hope.

In the lab, Aaron asks Tom Cashman to describe one of the best days of his life, as he wants to dedicate the banner to him. When Tom shares that he’d won the Don Northey Award in year 11, Aaron says that they are going to do something much better than that.

Aaron suggests that some of the best things include race cars, then draws a small red car on his banner with a number 7 on it. He then suggests “weaponry technologies”, and draws several black missiles on his banner. When Tom points out that Aaron had started by saying that the best things were beauty and hope, and now he was focusing on Formula One cars and bombs, Aaron argues that you have to defend beauty.

Aaron checks with Tom that the Don Northey award was for sports, and asks Tom what sport he played (basketball). Aaron squirts a load of red paint onto his banner and then asks if there are any extra points for the wettest burst, as he spreads the red paint out into a circle. He then notes that it now looks like the banner is about Japan.

Aaron draws a giant stick man near the race car, and then adds some lines to his red circle to make it look more like a basketball and less like the flag of Japan. Tom says that he likes it now, because it’s not a direct reference to the bombing of Hiroshima. Aaron writes ‘Don Northey’ below the ball, and ‘Beauty and Hope’ at the top of the banner, in an attempt to salvage some points.

Aaron and Tom each grab an end of the banner, planning to take it outside for Aaron to burst through. However, as Aaron lifts his end, the paper rips apart due to the amount of paint he’d used for the ball. When Tom asks if this is Aaron’s burst-through, Aaron says that it isn’t, but that there will be a hollow bit in the banner. As they continue to try to lift the banner, it rips apart completely, and Aaron quickly pulls it over his head and bursts through the small part he is holding. Tom asks “This is the burst through?” and Aaron says that it will have to be. Tom then asks whether Aaron wants to do another burst-through on the other side of the banner, and holds his end of the banner up before lowering it so that Aaron can burst through again.

In the studio, Tom Gleeson acknowledges that Aaron had gotten a good crowd reaction, but urges him not to get confused, before noting that it felt like everything went wrong. Aaron says “No-one ever teaches you about the viscosity of paint… versus the thinness of paper.”

Tom Gleeson says that the message on the banner was very confusing, and asks what the Don Northey award was. Tom Cashman says it was an award named after the Deputy Principal of his school, and was awarded to the most proficient player in any sport. When Aaron points out that Tom is bragging about winning a sports award at a very academically-focused high school, Tom Cashman admits that he was one of very few people that actually played any sport.

Aaron earns last place for both his banner and his burst-through, earning just 1 point.

(Written by JoGo and proofread by Karl Craven)

(Illustrations collected by JoGo and adjusted by David Fuller)