Jonny Scholes

@jonnyscholes.com

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Making artwork about politics, abstraction, activism and futurism with equal parts code, paint, electronics and found objects. 📍 Nipaluna, Lutruwita, 'Australia' jonnyscholes.com

An art installation titled "The Department of Truth" by Jonny Scholes, set in a gallery with dark wood parquet floors. On a white wall, the black logo for the "Australian Trust Authority" is visible above three grey office cubicles. Each cubicle is sparsely furnished with a white desk, a black office chair, and a computer monitor showing a digital interface. A small notice board with flyers and a single potted artificial plant stand nearby, creating the sterile atmosphere of a government office.
A sign in a sunny public square titled "TODAYS DIGITAL CONTENT ADVICE." It features a danger-style gauge with segments ranging from "Use Caution" (blue) to "Stay Offline" (red). The needle is pointed firmly at the red "Stay Offline" section. The bottom of the sign reads TRUSTAUTHORITY.AU. The background shows a park setting with large trees and stone buildings.
Screenshot of the camera app open on an android phone. In view is an abstract painting on a wall. The painting uses orange and blue, with lots of vertical lines. There is a Google lens tooltip showing the numbers 2211184210125 suggesting the camera app thinks the painting is a barcode.
A photo of a busy street with sandstone buildings. Standing on the grass in the foreground is a large road sign held up by concrete weights. You can only see the back of the sign which appears to have an electrical box on the back side. Some pedestrians wait on the side of the road to cross the wet street which is shimmering in the sunshine.
A mess of vertical lines painted with spray paint on a wall. The photo is tightly cropped so you can only see painted surface. The painting is broken into triangular sections each painted either pale blue, pale orange or lilac. Different sections are painted over with messy vertical lines. The wall has lots of tiny raindrops on it.
A piece of paper lying on a workshop table covered in layers of paint and stencil over spray. On the paper is an artwork depicting a silhouetted headless human figure with their arms held upwards. Where its face should be is a stencil of Queen Elizabeth 2 in a different style. Some crude lines are drawn in the silhouette and on either side of it are simple characters drawn in scratchy linework. On the left, the figure holds out a Sceptre and has a necklace. On the right the figure has a skull necklace and a spikey tunic. Both wear similar crowns. Everything on the artwork is various types of black, except for two red hearts either side of the queen. It appears to be somewhat in jest and is a collaboration between four very different styles.
Three orange and blue rectangles that appear to have artworks painted on them inspired by Australian bank notes sitting on a concrete floor. The artworks use a mix of spray paint, pastel and pen. The figures are somewhat abstract and are reminiscent of how a child might draw a mask or face.
A photo of a vibrant, abstract painting depicting the construction of the new Bridgewater bridge pylons. The painting is composed of bold geometric shapes in shades of orange, yellow, and blue, suggesting the towering pylons and the surrounding landscape. The artist's workspace is visible in the background, with paint cans and masking tape scattered around, hinting at the creative process behind the artwork.
In the backyard of a house next to a concrete patio is a garden with a stone wall in front of it. The half closest to the viewer is a partially built barbeque made from rocks, squares of concrete and rusty steel. There is a wooden triangular box with one face mostly open that has been built on the right side of the barbeque.
A screenshot of lots of browser tabs showing the Bluesky blue butterfly favicon. You can see "starter-pack" in the url bar.
An empty carpark between two building. There are no signs of life in the adjacent street. Separating the footpath and the car park is a chain hanging at knee-height. On the right hand wall is a black wall which has been painted many times. A darker black square section in the middle appears to be a freshly painted.
The photo is looking through the outdoor seating area of an empty cafe towards a small carpark between two buildings. A worker in bright yellow hi-vis is painting the wall with black paint. They are painting over a grid of square pieces of paper.
A person in a red beanie is mid-stride as they walk down a laneway in Nipaluna. They are walking past an empty two space carpark between buildings. On one wall of the carpark is a black wall which has been repeatedly painted black to combat graffiti. On top of the black paint are a grid of 100 pieces of square paper that have been stuck to the wall. On each square is a black printed QR code.
In a well lit white room a large installation is suspended from the ceiling. Behind the artwork are 3 tall windows with foliage through them. The installation is made up of two horizontal grids made of painted white timber. The top layer has lots of small motors attached in an even grid. From each motor hangs a long string. On the end of each string is a rock that is sitting about two hand widths above a picture of a bedroom. Below the bottom layer are pieces of smashed glass and some rocks. The artwork is plugged into the wall.