In the Studio: Darren Jones

Darren Jones lives and works on Fire Island. Both the natural tranquility of the island and the wit of its habitues seem to inform his work. See his Artist Spotlight from last year, and see what he has been up to recently on the following pages. For more information on Jones, please see his website.

Website, 2014
Web, thistle seeds, variable dimensions
"Seeds were woven together to form letters, and attached to the spider web to spell 'offline.' I happened to walk by later, just as the spider was dismantling my artwork and tossing the letters to the ground, rightly so. I was able to film the spider in action."


Website (film still; detail with spider)

Fire Island Light (still image), 2014, film
Varying forms of light that illuminate, reveal, and contribute to the enchantment of Fire Island, including lightning, moonlight, decorative lights, and morning sunlight.

Extant, 2013
Ink on paper, 8" x 11"
From a series of interventions on well-known phrases, using punctuation to alter the meaning.

Art World Anagrams, 2014
Text, variable dimensions
Art world phrases and idioms, anagramatized into different iterations, and revealing alternative truths.

A Guide to the Mourning Wood, 2014
Ink on paper, 22" x 27.5"
A hand-drawn map of the infamous Meatrack on Fire Island and its myriad pathways; a place of solace, mourning, sexual pleasure, history, and mythology for gay men.

Pay-Per-View, 2014
Ink on Post-it note, 3" x 3"
From a series of Post-it note commentaries on social ambitions, professional pursuits, and modern-day anxieties.

I'll Get By, 2013
Vinyl, variable dimensions
A wel- known and comforting sentiment, altered in meaning by the absence of one letter.

Trinity (Fire Island), 2014
Digital photograph, variable dimensions
Atmospheric anomaly of stars, moonlight, and celestial movement, seen in these orbs rising from the beach in Fire Island Pines.

A Token of My Affliction, 2013
Jewelry box, mouse, vinyl, plexi
Musing on the passage of time and the consequences of regret, loss, and fear.

Safer Inside, 2014
Text on eggshell, 3" x 2"
From a series of texts on eggshells titled "Safer Inside," noting the egg as a motif of refuge, a place to return to for safety against the relentless tumult of modern life.