☰ Jonathan Thomson Art

Abandon Area

This work is inspired by the secret underground lair of someone like James Bond 007's arch enemy. The hero has just disabled some vital piece of equipment and the whole place is about to explode. Sirens are wailing, things are smoking and this sign is flashing, urging all remaining henchmen still alive to run away.

Sadly for Hong Kong, the National Security Law imposed in 2020 gives this work a particular poignancy. But while we still have the free will to do what we want, this flashing sign says take some time to let yourself go and live life with abandon.

Better Than Sex

"Better Than Sex" is an important statement about values. Sex is a universal yardstick. We all know what it is and what we think about it. So when we see the statement "Better Than Sex" our immediate response is to ask ourselves "What is?" and to compare whatever we might be thinking of to the one thing that we all know with absolute certainty to be good. This gives a baseline on which to make other decisions about value. As a philosophical statement, "Better Than Sex"may be as incontrovertible as "I think therefore I am".

Electric Flowers

These works reflect my interest in elusive forms, transience, ephemera and fragility as fundamental components of beauty and as representative of the joys and sorrows of life and love.

Beauty is relative to different times and different cultures and all too often the delight it gives us is tempered by the fact that it too, like laughter and music, the perfume of flowers and the bloom of youth, will fade.

All things must pass, but in our hearts and minds, that which we find beautiful is a possession for all eternity.

Neon Ceramics

There is no originality except on the basis of tradition. These works combine Chinese ceramic forms with traditional Chinese motifs fabricated in neon in order to make wholly original contemporary works that speak to both modern and traditional Chinese culture.

Illuminated Figures

For most of the history of art, artists have focused on making representations of things that have been made visible through light. These works go a step further and use real light to present the beauty of the human form. The light emitted by the works themselves helps ascribe them with meaning. Light is a revelation.

Clouds

The sky is the source of light on earth. Clouds control the fall of light and the chiaroscuro of the landscape as they partially or wholly obscure the sun. In nature, light and shadow never stand still. Cloud formations are the ideal subject for an investigation into the relationship between the objective and subjective and between science and art.