untitled (white poles) 1
2004

• Jonathan Jones

These minimalist works by Jonathan Jones mobilise the aesthetics of the twentieth-century avant-garde to contemplate how art shapes our ability to see. The embossed contours of the works are revealed through light, highlighting intersecting white poles. The work shimmers and contorts depending on the position of the viewer, so that light and shadow become key elements in the experience of the work. By extension of this interaction, the viewer’s body becomes part of the artwork itself. Jones’s preoccupation with art histories, the body, light and shadow prompts us to consider how we create meaning in art – is it fixed, or something more fluid?