ARTEFACT

2008 | Photography & silkscreens

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By mixing photographs with a series of silksceens (details of authentic archive films) Jones describes an imaginary and elusive country, revealing a surreal perspective of our world, where repeated failed attempts at rocket launches are a global reality.

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Jones does not imply criticism directed toward the politics of a specific country, he rather creates a fictitious visual “scenario” using absurdity to redirect the viewer’s projected negative feelings.

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By utilizing two seemingly similar objects, the nuclear missile, an icon of mass destruction, and the rocket, an icon of scientific research and progress, Jones de-contextualizes each within his landscapes. Jones’ rockets and at times satellites, rest at indistinct locations, abandoned due to their malfunction and reference playfully a whole register of human emotions between angst and curiosity. Jones adds to the mystique by combining these created images with reframed, real life video stills from archives, making the viewer believe that this is a documentary.

Navigating between different media- photography, silk screened video stills, and a 2:30 video, Jones’ work hovers between the imaginary and the hyper real, leaving an arsenal of impressions that transcend time and ultimately loose their threatening effect.

 

Selected by Kathy Ryan, Director of Photography at The New York Times Magazine and by Natasha Egan, Associate Director and Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College, Chicago. 3rd Annual Photography Exhibition, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, 2012.

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TEXT: CLAIRE TAILLANDIER