Jonathan Jones (artist) facts for kids

Jonathan Jones, born in 1978, is an amazing Indigenous Australian artist from Sydney. He has created many important artworks that are part of the modern Australian Aboriginal art world. His art is so good that major places like the Art Gallery of NSW and the National Gallery of Victoria have bought his pieces. Jonathan also received a special award called the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship. This award gives A$160,000 to artists and thinkers who are doing great work.

Growing Up and Heritage

Jonathan Jones was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1978. He also lived in places like Bathurst and near Tamworth when he was younger. Jonathan is a member of the Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi peoples. These are Indigenous groups from south-east Australia.

Being an Indigenous artist is very important to his work. His grandmother helped him learn about his family's history and culture. This learning became the start of his art career. His grandmother taught him to be proud of his heritage. This pride helps him create public art that shows the deeper histories of places in Sydney.

How Jonathan Jones Creates Art

Jonathan Jones works from Sydney. He is a multi-talented artist. He uses many different materials and technologies. He creates installations, public artworks, prints, drawings, sculptures, and films.

Even though he uses many different art forms, his message is always clear. Jonathan often uses everyday materials in simple, repeated shapes. This helps him explore Indigenous traditions and ideas. These simple, straight lines show both old and new ideas. Jonathan loves to find connections between a place's past and its present use.

To make his art, Jonathan often does a lot of research. He also works with other artists and communities. This helps him create art that respects local knowledge and concerns. He has worked with communities in Boggabilla in New South Wales. He also worked in Amata in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) of South Australia. These projects helped him explore themes like how communities and individuals connect.

Art for Specific Places

Jonathan Jones often makes art that fits a specific place. These "site-specific" works are perfect for his style. He can change public spaces to show different stories about the land. He challenges common ideas about culture. Jonathan's art helps to reveal the hidden histories of a city.

Barrangal Dyara (Skin and Bones) is a great example. This public art project showed a part of Australian history that many had forgotten. Skin and Bones recreated the shape of the 19th Century Garden Palace building. This building was in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. It burned down, destroying many Indigenous objects.

Jonathan covered the area where the building stood with many white, sculptural shields. This created a large, beautiful memorial. The shields represent the cultural loss that happened. This artwork shows how Jonathan uses art to interpret a site's history through an Aboriginal viewpoint. This project was the 32nd project by Kaldor Public Art Projects.

Art with Light

Jonathan Jones also uses light in his art. He uses fluorescent light tubes to explore connections between people, communities, and the land. He says it helps "illuminate a bridge between cultures." Jonathan often uses light to highlight textures and strong geometric lines.

To some viewers, these works might look like modern minimalist art. But for Jonathan, the patterns and lines are direct references to Aboriginal ideas about country and community. These themes, and his use of lines, refer to Aboriginal line designs from south-eastern Australia. These designs have often been copied in Western art. Jonathan explains, "In this region the line is used to create patterns and designs, often carved into wood, skin and the ground."

His work Blue Poles, from 2004/2010, talks about how Western art has borrowed from other cultures. It directly refers to Jackson Pollock's famous painting 'Blue Poles'. Jonathan's use of light in this work shows the mix of old and new ideas. The modern, structured light tubes look contemporary. But the lines connect to his Aboriginal heritage. These connections to the land go back thousands of years.

Where to See His Art

Jonathan Jones's art has been shown in many big art museums and galleries. You can find his works in the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of NSW, and the National Gallery of Victoria.

Tarnanthi 2019 Exhibition

In 2019, Jonathan was part of an exhibition called Bunha-bunhanga: Aboriginal agriculture in the south-east. This show was part of Tarnanthi, an Indigenous art festival. It displayed old colonial artworks next to tools and objects made by Aboriginal people. Jonathan, along with writer Bruce Pascoe and historian Bill Gammage, added careful research and comments.

The exhibition was held at the Art Gallery of South Australia's Elder Wing and the Museum of Economic Botany. Jonathan created a series of very large grindstones inside the Museum building for this exhibition.