October 2016

East London makers
notion of an artist’s place. Inside,
the conglomeration of finished
bronzes, drawings, found
objects, paints and wax models
reveals Jonesy’s artistic variety.
While he picked up the bronze
casting techniques over the
years he’s worked at the
foundry, his other skills
are self-taught.
Jonesy came to street
art almost by accident.
One afternoon he went
out and placed a few
figures randomly around
the streets. It made him realise
that it’s the ideal platform for an
environmental message.
“I feel the art world in this
country is broken," he says. "It
should be a means of expression
for the public. But it is controlled
by money through the gallery
system. It stops galleries
promoting artists who are critical
of its sponsors.”
That’s why it’s important for
Jonesy to do stuff on the street.
It's not commercial and it’s
accessible to everybody.
He didn’t expect any response
when he started installing his
pieces, but it didn’t take long for
people to notice them. Today,
Jonesy is a known name and a
favourite of the street art tour
guides who like the fact that his
pieces are not easily noticeable.
At the moment, Jonesy has an
illegal intervention going on
at the Tate Modern. In
broad daylight he glued
a round bronze medal,
with an environmental
message onto a wall
at the museum’s new
Switch House. It’s been
up five weeks and Jonesy
wonders if nobody has noticed it
yet – or whether they have left it
there on purpose.
Weapons of
free speech
“I’m almost a bit disappointed
that I didn’t get caught. I wanted
to make a point of why I did it,”
he says, laughing.
Another of Jonesy's passions is
crafting musical instruments.
On the wall of the studio hangs
a series of hand-made guitars.
All of them are made from
sustainable or recycled wood
and are decorated with amazing
details.
Music is another means of
getting across an environmental
message. “Making guitars is like
making weapons of freedom of
speech,” he says.
Jonesy gives his musical
instruments away to musicians
who he thinks could voice his
environmental concerns. With
that, his message reaches
people on the streets through
yet another artform.
Jonesy’s pieces can be found
around the Brick Lane area
(Fournier St, Hanbury St,
Osborne St, Sclater St, Bacon
St) on Columbia Road, along the
canals and by Bow Locks.
Two of Jonesy's pieces (the Tate Switch
House installation is above left)
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