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Violetta Palak Jones is an incredible artist that has been exploring NFTs and the convergence of are and technology longer than almost everybody in the space dropping her first NFT on SuperRare in early 2020. Her latest drop Peyote Ugly is a result of a collaboration between four artists from different countries; Poland, Holland, Mexico and Norway, and was created during their residency at Arthouse Pani, in Tequisquiapan, Mexico. The artists created a series of artworks inspired by Mexican folk culture and mythology. They constructed a narrative strongly intertwined with the elements of Aztec beliefs but with a humorous touch. The tongue in cheek storyline depicts the artists in an adventurous saga taking place in the Mexican Jungle where they steal ancient artifacts and as a result they are on the run from the wrath of awakened Aztec Gods.
We are honored to have spent some time with her and are excited to share this awesome interview with you all today.
Violetta P Jones
Artist, filmmaker.
https://linktr.ee/ViolettaPJones
Where are you from? Can you provide a little information about your background?
I was born in Poland and from there I went on quite a journey. I lived with my family in a number of countries that back then were considered USSR. Then, when I hit to the age of reason and started that adulting thing, when you have to pay for everything and get off that wholesome mooching off your mom and dad I travelled and lived in the Mediterranean paradise; Portugal, Spain, Italy. I stayed the longest in Portugal and from there I was about to move to Sweden. However, I took a short pitstop in Scotland. 15 Years later I seem to be still changing my oil and brake pads as I’ve not left yet.
Why am I an artist and why ultimately NFTs
An artist or a creative is a person who uses anything around them in the non-primary purpose way. So, if you use a hammer to make a puppet toy for your young nephew you can consider yourself an artist or a creative… perhaps not good with babies or safe to be left alone with them, but definitely a creative winner.
I have always been drawn to those kinds of ideas of using the world around me in a slightly different way than society planned it out for me. I love film, fashion, and fine arts and that encompasses digital, animation, AR, VR and AI. The reason I became an artist was to combine all of those and make a wonderfully engaging mash of all creative and artistic disciplines available to human use. The NFT space is a perfect platform to do that. So why the hell not just go just steam ahead and get people on board, one by one
When did you mint your first NFT. What platform and why?
My first drop was on SuperRare early January 2020. I chose SR as it was one of two platforms at the time. I emailed them and said I wanted to get on board, and they said “OK” haha it was crazy as nobody was selling for the prices you can see now. It was mostly $30 – $200 dollar sales and we loved it and supported each other back then. Actually, I think most of the sales were made to other artist anyway. Crazy! It was simple, lovely, all about the art!
SuperRare has always been good to me and I will never forget them as they were my first
Something I cannot live without and why?
My “diamond eyes.” I feel some explanation is needed here. I wear “diamonds” under my eyes that look like bitcoin lasers lol I feel that is my signature look. It is almost like a tattoo idea, but my “diamonds” are dispensable. Those who met me in real life know exactly what I am talking about😊
Fav non NFT artist. What about their style resonates with you?
My absolutely favorite non NFT artist is Zdzislaw Beksinski. He was a Polish dystopian surrealist who was pushing the boundaries and created a very dark but relatable world.
I love his art as it created a movie like experience for me that took me to another dimension like films usually do. His art was full of narrative and not just pretty picture. There is nothing wrong with pretty pictures, but my nature craves the story around it. Beksinski took me on a journey every time I visited his show and I know every single piece he created that is available to the public. I recommend checking him out to everyone.
His personal story was tragic and reflected so much in the art he was creating. He inspired millions of concept artists around the world and equally many traditional artists. I had a very rare privilege of meeting him in person very briefly.
I strongly believe that if he lived long enough to experience NFTs he would have embraced them 100%.
Who is my fav NFT artist? What makes this artist unique?
My favorite NFT artist is my husband, Trevor Jones. His creative mind made me fall in love with him and his art. He is the art, and his art is his beautiful mind. I feel that his unique aspect is that he is always many steps ahead of all of us. Many artists in this space follow the trends, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it thinking is absolutely fine. Trevor, however, has the mind of a creative gambler. He goes in directions that we would all shit ourselves just thinking of going and he takes those risks, pushes those boundaries, establishes those rules and then reaps the rewards. I admire him and his attitude and work ethic.
What made you pursue NFT art?
My hubby, Trevor Jones was the reason. This was one of another unique ways of distributing art of any kind and Trev encouraged me to get on board. I am really glad he did.
What is the one piece of NFT art you wished you had purchased but you missed out on?
Oh God there are so many. Trevor usually is the one who purchases the pieces for us, and he is so much better at the whole process than I am so I let him take over in this aspect. We do have favorite artists that we wished we had jumped on their pieces much earlier, before they became a bit out of our range but too many to mention
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? Why this location?
Papa New Guinea, as for some reason there is a lot of native culture and customs that would just sky rocket my creativity and inspiration. I love nerding out ancient beliefs, cultures, mythologies, legends, and all of that. Somehow stories inspire me and my art so, yeah, PNG would totally be my destination of choice.
What are your other passions besides art? Why?
I love very simple things in life. I love UFC, and a huge fan of MMA in general. I love fishing, hunting, chess, card games and travelling. I share all my passions with my husband which is amazing as I get to do what I love with him, and I am so much better at all of those thing too which is an enormous advantage too. You can tell from my answer that I am not competitive at all. 😊
Do you make other forms of art?
I absolutely do. I paint, sculpt, have fun in VR, and make films.
How do you come up with specific style?
Art is a visual language. A style is like having an accent or speak a particular dialect in that language. I am an artist without a strong accent or a dialect. I am an artist with opinions and particular statements or stories I want to tell. So, when you look at my art you will not see a recognizable style, but you will see what I want to say through my visuals.
How has your style evolved over the years?
As I mentioned above it is not the style that evolved but the opinions or the stories, I wanted to tell through the visual language I learned. They might have been short stories or description of feelings or firm statements, but I have always tried to get a bit of communication going back and forth with the audience.
What was your greatest failure and what did you learn from that?
I feel it was my co-ownership of a small film production company. There was huge potential and great future ahead however there was a very different vision by the owners. There is nothing worse than putting your heart and soul for a few years into a project that is halted due to creative differences. So, the lesson is just making sure that the collaborators or projects I am embarking on in the future are with people on the same page as I am.
What is coming in the future?
I have a feeling that huge things are coming. I found my voice and want to share it with others. I really aim at combining all digital and traditional disciplines in all my future projects and create art interactive experiences rather than just viewing shows.
I had an edition art of a Scottish poet once at Rarible and the artwork came with the wholesome Scottish experience of a parcel with all that was Scottish. It was a teaser of what I wanted to do in the future. Only one buyer got on board, and he absolutely loved it. He received the artwork and a parcel with Scottish goods and delicacies and recorded authentic poetry. Imagine those experiences going full steam ahead where you can enjoy the art experience engaging all senses possible. That would be phenomenal the ultimate immersive experience. The tech is finally catching up and the audience is finally getting the concept.
I strongly believe that in the future we will all deliver, mostly through spectacular collabs, experiences that are so much more that just looking or listening. They will be fully immersive experiences that will make our bodies feel the art in every pour of our skin.
If you could collaborate with one artist who would it be?
I do not have any artist in mind right now, although I was told at VeeCon my art would fit amazingly with Refik Anado’sl creations. I definitely would love to collab with people who have creative skills that complete me, like musicians or animators or MMA fighters 😊
Do you have any upcoming drops?
I do have an amazing drop coming on Thursday 26th May on Makers Place. Peyote Ugly – the Aztec Awakening is the collab between myself and 3 other phenomenal fine artists and a guest animator: Henrik Uldalen, Daniel Martin, Santiago Pani and Ivo Newport.
The 5 of us spent over a month in Mexico drinking Mescal, making art and pissing off the ancient gods. But in all seriousness what we did was something, to my knowledge, never attempted in this space before. We built a fine arts project acting as an experience backed by a strong culturally infused hilarious narrative with an art mash of traditional and digital offerings, a drop with both NFTs and physicals. Also, worth mentioning is that every aspect of an animation in each NFT started with a physical traditional art element like a painting or a sculpture or a print that was later scanned and turned into a digital asset.
Crazy overload of info here so anybody interested should just visit a project website that explains everything in detail:
www.theawakening.quest
Linktree Links: https://linktr.ee/ViolettaPJones
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