Giselle Jones is a painter with an MA in Fine Art from the University of Brighton and has been developing her practice since graduating in 2020. Giselle's work is politically motivated but her objective as an artist is to reflect the world as it is rather than through the lens of political ideology. For Giselle, how the audience responds to her work is as important as the work itself. She enjoys the experimental aspect of combining digital photographic images with traditional paint — the outcome is seldom perfect or predictable.
1) Which art movement do you consider most influential on your practice?
There are two art movements which have influenced my practice, Pop Art and Capitalist Realism. I was fortunate enough to visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York back in 2018, in which Sigmar Polke's 'The Goat Wagon’ was on display. I love how he overlaps photographic images onto patterned fabric. Like me, he was interested in layering and transference.
2) Where do you go and when to make your best art?
Since 2009 I have produced a lot of artwork in a shared studio space near where I live, but it wasn’t until a trip to Little Havana in Miami and galleries in New York back in 2018 when I found true inspiration and hopefully this is evident in my most recent artwork. The best and most fun painting so far was ‘ La Calavera Catrina De Gripe Morbo,’ completed during lockdown , in my garden, to the sound of Cuban music! Working outside in the garden was actually very liberating with plenty of light and space!
3) How do you describe your 'creative process'?
I learned to build images in layers when I attended a silk screen course at ‘Bip Art’ in Brighton. I don’t have silk screen facilities in my studio, so I found alternatives. I use either acrylic, oil or more recently spray paint to create a base layer, then I build onto that by transferring digital photographic images onto the layers using a gel medium. Sometimes I use collage to create additional layers and print images onto the canvas using textured materials such as wall paper or textured window film. I use anything with a textured surface I can print from. Occasionally I’ll use stencils to create layers too.
I always use a sketchbook to map out ideas for a piece of work first, and recently I have been using Gimp to create digital collages to work from, another great way to build images in layers with ease. I like the experimental process of combining traditional painterly techniques with digital imagery because the end result is never predictable. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but when it does, it’s incredibly satisfying!
4) Which artist, living or deceased, is the greatest inspiration to you?
There are so many inspirational artists out there, but if I had to whittle it down, one would have to be Sigmar Polke. Of all the exhibitions I’ve seen, for me Sigmar Polke’s stands out the most. I was fortunate enough to see an exhibition of his work at the Tate Modern in London and some at MoMA in New York, and they blew me away. It was his use of layering that appeals to me, the photographic images transferred onto often on patterned fabric rather than canvas. He was also critical of both communism and capitalism, something which I can relate to as my Polish Grandfather escaped a concentration camp at the age of 16 and came to Britain as a refugee. He was escaping two totalitarian regimes, and he was critical of both. I’ve been to three communist countries and live in a capitalist country , so I have seen the merits and flaws of each. This hopefully has allowed me to be impartial, and reflect the world as it is, unmediated by political ideology. My objective as an artist isn’t to reshape people’s minds , simply present the truth and let them decide how they respond. The Cuban performance artist Tania Bruguera has been influential in this respect: the event Tatlin’s Whisper at the Tate Modern in 2008 involved uniformed policemen on horseback herding a gathered audience around the gallery space. Bruguera was highlighting the ingrained obedient behavioural responses an audience has to power, and passive subjection before an artwork and a performer.
5) If you weren't an artist, what would you do?
I have a teaching qualification , so I would love to teach art in some capacity . My mother is an artist , and my father was a journalist , so writing is also in the blood. I wrote a review on an exhibition at the BMECP Centre in Brighton called the ‘Out(law) Exhibition and Discussion ,’ organised by a fellow student , where a group of artists and visitors came together to reflect on art as resistance and those living without the protection of the law . It featured an art installation by the former lawyer and artist Jack Tan and some performance art by Janina Moninska. it was published on the artlawnetwork.org website ( see link below.) https://artlawnetwork.org/a-day-of-art-law-reflections-on-the-live-art-a...
6) What do you listen to for inspiration?
Having been to Cuba and visited the Cuban migrant community of Little Havana in Miami, some of my artwork is influenced by Ibero American culture. Little Havana is a place where the community often comes together for annual events such as the Calle Ocho street festival, which temporarily turns a road reserved for cars into a space for the people. The music, dancing and energy is incredible, so I often listen to Cuban music as I work in an effort to transfer some of that energy into the artwork.
7) If you could own one artwork, and money was no object, which piece would you acquire?
Good question! I saw Frank Stella’s ‘Giufà, la luna, i ladri e le guardie,’ at MoMA in New York back in 2018, I’d love that on my wall but additionally I’d have to buy a large spacious apartment to accommodate it!
8) If your dream museum or collection owner came calling, which would it be?
I’d love to exhibit inside a monument to globalisation , for example the British Airways Tower in Brighton and I’d invite Charles Saatchi!
9) What is your key piece of advice for artists embarking on a fine art or creative degree today?
My key piece of advice to artists embarking on a fine art or creative degree today would be to keep going to art exhibitions or visiting online art exhibitions as other artist’s work can be a vital source of inspiration, and key to the development of your own practice.
10) What is your favorite book of all time (fiction or non fiction)?
I’ve read a lot of amazing books, but the only book that has changed my perspective of the world so far was Mark Augé’s ‘Non-Places. Introduction to An Anthropology of Super-modernity. ‘ It’s not the easiest book to read, but fascinating and in my humble opinion, essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand globalisation and the impact it is having.
11) If you could hang or place your artwork in one non traditional art setting, where would that be?
The Museum of Modern Art in New York would be the ultimate traditional place I'd love to hang a piece of artwork. I love New York, the energy and creative vibe I felt there was like no other city I have been to so far. The Museum of Modern Art had some fantastic artwork on display there, a real source of inspiration.
12) What was the biggest lesson your university course or time studying taught you?
I learned a huge amount at University and enjoyed every second. For me, the biggest lesson I learned was to recognise that research informs your practice and it is a continual process. Going to art exhibitions and reading philosophy is as essential as spending time in your studio making art.
13) And finally, if we were to fast forward 10 years, where would we find you?
I’ll still be making art because I am not happy unless I am creating. As an artist, through my artwork, I try to reflect the world as it is, and how the viewer responds to the artwork is a part of that process. Who knows what the future will bring , but I will still be there, reflecting!
Learn more about Giselle and discover her collection of paintings.
