Green Shoes, 2015

Standing ‘totem’ sculptures have been part of Jones’s visual vocabulary since the mid-1960s, as seen in works such as The Third Man (1964–65). Around 2010 Jones returned to his totem motif, but this time predominently in acrylic. While retaining the box-like structure more fluid forms that refected the curves, bulges and poses of the actual human body were used. Stylised heads, with cut acrylic profiles and flat planes of hair sit atop these sculptures. Painted colour is sprayed and smeard on the plastic surfaces. The use of found objects from the 1960s series such as rope and pairs of shoes was extended, with objects encased within these vitrine/bodies.

In the piece Green Shoes (2015) this includes a sequinned bikini set and a pair of high-heels, positioned in the relevant places to provide a kind of graphic signage for the body. The head of the figure is sprayed painted in vibrant pinks and reds. Playing with conventions of shop window display and of gallery vitrine, Jones dissolves distinctions between surface and form, and image and object. The shadows cast on the walls in proximity to the sculptures accentuate this aspect. A drawing in light on the wall, these shadows are an important aspect to full life of the piece. The piece continues his reinvention of how to visualise the figure, and his compulsion to explore the act of looking.