Introducing Symantha Jones

Symantha Jones is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and Assistant Professor of Art at Louisiana State University, Eunice. She grew up along the East Coast, eventually landing in Florida, where she received both a BFA in Studio Art and a BA in Art History.

After living and creating work in the UK for five years, Symantha returned to Florida and attained an MFA in Visual Arts from Florida Atlantic University. During that time, she worked extensively in elaborate cardboard installations and began creating a series of small sculptures of fragmented and anthropomorphized homes made from reclaimed materials alongside experimental print processes, silverpoint drawings, and sculptural paintings.

Her current body of work is a continuation of these forms, including her Inescapable Moments series, a collection of small “houselet” sculptures, as well as drawings, collages, and paintings, that combine nostalgia and the uncanny. Symantha’s current research and creative output utilize a hauntological lens to focus on the narrative, mundane elements of the home to communicate the visceral nature of memory. She combines cast-off materials in various media, from collage to sculpture. Through a cumulative process, the broken, marked, and imperfect pieces of a spectral history are added to Jones’ collection of imperfect homes that are sweet, strange, and haunted. Symantha now resides in Lafayette and oversees the Art Department at LSU, Eunice, where she teaches the next generation of artists the value of art and creativity.

Who makes up your art circle?

My art circle comprises a vast network of creative friends, including artists and academics I’ve met at conferences and living overseas, friends I’ve gained via social media, former classmates and students, and newly found local friends. I value these connections, especially since being an artist can be such a solitary practice. I also find it crucial to be connected to people and ideas across disciplines. I am constantly fascinated by new findings across the realms of science, Western and Eastern philosophy, and technology. My art circle is more than just people, it’s a vast array of ideas spanning the fields of art and art history, horror studies, literary criticism, Beat studies, and ecology (and probably many others I’m forgetting!).

How do you expand your art circle?

Having only lived here in Louisiana for a few years and being a naturally introverted person, online spaces are probably my most active community. Being a small part of so many lives through social media and correspondence is an important part of my circle.Traveling is another way I expand my art circle. It’s both scary and exciting to visit new places. Whenever I travel, I prioritize seeking out the local museums, public and street art, and cultural events. These experiences help me to view the art world as a global community, and I always find it inspiring to experience new things. I also attend academic conferences as a way to make new connections; they are a perfect setting to share knowledge and build community. As an art professor, I feel like every student expands my art circle. I love being able to see how students develop through their academic careers. And it brings me great joy when they keep in touch and become active members of the art community.

What value do you see in having a creative community?

It’s essential to be part of a creative community in some way, and not just for artists/ makers. It’s too easy to get lost in the slog of daily life, and without creativity, we lose some of our humanity. We were made to dream, play, and create, not for the sake of making money or fame (not that either is a bad thing), but to remind us that we are alive, to be joyful as much as possible in challenging moments. Without a community, that part of us can wither, doubly so for artists/creatives of any discipline. A creative community supports you and inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and ultimately to be your best self. A creative community supports the entire community by creating connections, increasing engagement, and fostering positive cultural change.

How does your artistic approach contribute to your community?

The act of creation is in itself a way to contribute to the creative community. As an artist and researcher, I am constantly creating connections between ideas and translating them into my work. I contribute by sending my work out into the world. My goal is to create art that adds a bit of strangeness to the lives of those who see it. My work is a reflection of our relationship with the home, in all its scarcity and instability, each piece a crumbling effigy to the dream of a perfect home, nearly unattainable and haunting. It is this idea that keeps running through my mind as I become a part of any community, and as I travel to other communities. How does each home become a part of us, and what do we leave behind? I tell my own stories through my work, but also pick the threads of the stories that surround me. By observing the memories etched on each home I pass, inscribed into waterworn and sunbaked siding and eroded concrete, I can add those stories to my own, and I can share bits of cultures and memories through my work. I also collaborate with other artists and researchers whenever possible. I am open about my processes and techniques. In fact, sharing information is one of my favorite things, whether it is finding solutions to material problems/techniques in art making, sharing small art supply creators, sharing artists' work, or supporting fellow artists and small makers whenever I can. As an educator, I have a direct impact on my community through my students. If I can inspire the next generation of students to be creatives in some way, it will have a longlasting positive impact on any community they become a part of. In addition, as the advisor of the LSUE Art Club, we support the community through the creation of public art and support the academic community through various fun and creative events. My goal is to help my students build a community from the start of their artistic career that can expand to support them throughout their lives.

Our weekly Art Circle series profiles artists throughout the community and is sponsored in part by Lafayette Visitor Enterprise Fund managed by Lafayette Travel