United Kingdom –
‘Love the Skin You’re In‘ features a series of photorealist drawings that consider the implications inherent in how the media advertises, manipulates and exploits the imagery of flesh. Drawing specifically on industry slogans and beauty advertising campaigns, Love the Skin You’re In questions notions of individual and collective identity, and limitations in the ultimate pursuit of perfection.
Rendered in colored chalk pastel, the artist’s application and delicate handling of his medium mirrors the way in which we apply products to our own skin. Capturing both the translucency and fragility of the skin’s surface, Jones’ drawings scrutinize subtle variations, colorations and superficialities. The meticulous and time-consuming process by which the artist creates his work is in direct contrast to the immediacy of imagery captured in today’s society, and negates the rapid pace at which we are accustomed to consuming images.
In both his subject matter and technique, Jones underscores the rituals that are undertaken to simulate an impression of that which is reflected back to us in the media. In Love the Skin You’re In, Jones challenges the culture of perfectionism, and rather than present a version of reality based on falsification, aims to ‘re-advertise’ a truthful image of the flesh.
