SOMETHING GREATER

2017 | Drawings & spray paint based on real photos & viral videos.

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Situation #1 
Circular cut-out on the rear hood of a car to let a dog traveling in the trunk breathe... Practicality bordering on the ridiculous.

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Situation #2
Iranian television. The screen is showing a women's Olympic sports event, but the athletes' bodies are obscured by large black stripes. How can we appreciate the choreography of a gymnast whose silhouette is 70% hidden?

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Situation #3
Two cars side by side. One man as a link, one foot on each roof. A wild ride, probably as short as it is dangerous.
 

« Gabriel Jones cherishes the theme of the absurd, and in this series of drawings, the artist presents us with the best of his research; the fruit of his wanderings in the meanders of the web, of his insatiable pursuit of the bizarre.

Returning to the technique of his beginnings, Jones renews his work on the image. With a few strokes of grease pencil reduced to the essential, the drawings capture improbable moments based on real facts, taken from the photographs or videos he has collected. One or more beams of fluorescent spray add a magical dimension to the scene. Pink, orange, yellow or green beams of light, they arouse curiosity without clarifying the meaning of these indecipherable moments.

Let's glean a few clues, play guessing games... but we remain frustrated, incomprehension still dominating. To appreciate the scenes described, you have to accept that you don't understand their meaning... or listen to the artist tell the story.

Gabriel Jones also knows how to captivate the viewer by narrating these comical scenes. In just a few sentences, he distills the story that will tickle everyone's curiosity. Playful, laughing, critical but not mocking, he passionately conveys his taste for these funny and totally incongruous moments, sublimated in an ordinary, colorful aesthetic...

So as not to detract from the mystery of his drawings, Gabriel Jones keeps his sources secret. He reveals just enough elements to unleash our imagination. »
 

- Text: Marie Delas