We recently connected with Todd Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Todd, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My work explores residual cultural memory through the detritus of the ever-decreasing life cycle of our identity-driven attention economy. Through processes of archeological curation, accretion, and excavation, I create new objects that query the values of our current sociopolitical positions and examine implications for sustainability.

Discarded and mistint house paints are manifestations of culture as they are forgotten in basements, garages, closets, and left behind by previous owners. Mistint house paints are orphaned in hardware stores by customers who are not satisfied with their original color choices or when the store fails to create the desired hue or finish. Disconnected from the original owners and their intentions, mistint house paints are imbued with invisible individual memory and comprise a visible cultural history. House paints can add desirability, enhance a home’s sophistication, or create comfort in one’s limited space. Infinite color choices make house paints an identity-driven good in a culture with an overwhelming supply of consumer products meant to attract buyers who wish to have something exclusive. These novelties, however, have an ever-shorter lifespan as consumers continually chase the next best self-improvement. Color carries a deep resonance, and choosing a paint color is rooted in psychological affect such as mood and behavior. Each home holds a recollection, and its inhabitants’ persona is transcribed in the layout and color of the walls, creating their order of nature as a projection of their newer, improved identities.

I see potential in these paints through their accessibility by using these materials that can easily be found and repurposed today. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, I noticed that individuals took on more home renovation projects, and house paint was a commodity frequently purchased. During my excursions in hardware stores, I realized an influx of mistint house paints.

Process plays a central role in my work as I recontextualize materials through my collection and intervention. Salvaging and molding layers of paint into newfound forms, these stratifications expose remnants and the foundation of their previous lives. I reformulate the discarded and mistint paints into a visual record of cultural history through material transformations by pouring numerous layers to create strata-like forms that mimic natural sedimentation. The new relationship of each color layer is exposed through excavation and creates a cultural snapshot that examines the development of our society through patterns of culture/identity shedding. These reconstructed objects focus on the abandoned materials, critiquing the excessive waste of our contemporary consumerist ideology.

Todd, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an experimental artist who explores the boundaries between contemporary painting and sculpture. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts and double majored in studio art and psychology at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Once I graduated, I became an artist-in-residence for six months at Studio 209 in Thomasville, Georgia, before moving my studio practice to Columbus, Ohio. I then attended the Summer Painting and Sculpture Intensive hosted by the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This experience was a turning point for me and my practice, and at that moment, I knew I wanted to attend graduate school. I am currently living and working in Athens, Ohio, where I received my Master of Fine Arts in Painting + Drawing and a Graduate Certificate in Visual Arts Management from Ohio University.

I am proud of my work and how far I have come with my conceptual thinking and use of materials in my artistic practice. As a painter, my work expands across multiple disciplines, such as drawing, sculpture, and installation. My current research and creative practice recontextualize material practices and take an interdisciplinary approach to art-making as I use mistint and discarded house paint to touch on topics such as consumerism, identity politics, and sustainability,

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I am interested in consumer goods and residual memory. My work aims to understand the ever-decreasing life cycle of consumer goods, why we consume them, and how our actions can harm the environment. My artwork focuses mainly on house paint, and I want viewers to question their consumerism and their means of disposal. For example, there are proper ways of house paint disposal. Unused latex-based and water-based paints can be dried out and then placed in the garbage. Oil-based paint is not allowed in landfills and is considered hazardous waste and has to be taken to a Hazardous Waste Facility. Individuals can even consider donating the paint somewhere in their community to be recycled by a local organization.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

As an artist, I have always tried to be more sustainable in my practice. I have come to accept that it is almost impossible not to create any waste, and I have learned to accept that and reduce my footprint. There is little to no material waste in my practice. Everything is recycled, from the house paint, shavings, and the paint can lid. My project on the grand scale of things is small, but you don’t get social change without starting somewhere.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.taahd.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taahd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToddJonesARTIST
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddnjones/