PIA is proud to support the practice of Aaron Jones and his upcoming exhibition Sky Mirage at The Bentway produced by Ontario Culture Days for Nuit Blanche 2024 (Toronto, ON).
Happening under Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, the artist will create and install a reflective balloon akin to a blimp, suspended in the air. This inflatable marvel will act as a celestial mirror, affording viewers the opportunity to behold their own reflections against the backdrop of the urban vista. The reflective surface will cast an illusion of soaring through the heavens, seamlessly blending reality with fantasy. The exhibition site will be transformed into an immersive and interactive haven, with the reflective balloon serving as its centerpiece. Visitors will be invited to engage with the artwork, interacting with their own reflections while contemplating the splendor of the surrounding urban environment.
Aaron Jones (b. 1993, Toronto, Canada) creates objects and images to explore the inherent possibilities in world-building and abstraction. Employing found images, video and lens-based media, he works with different forms of collage to build characters and spaces that reflect upon the nuances of his own upbringing and current life, as a way of finding peace. Recent exhibitions include As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic, works from the Wedge Art Collection at The Polygon, Vancouver (2023), We Are Story: The Canada Now Photography Acquisition at the Art Gallery of Ontario (2023), Timecode Butterfly for Nuit Blanche, Toronto (2022), GTA21, a triennial survey presented by MOCA, Toronto (2021), Three Thirty at Doris McCarthy Gallery (2020) and Ragga NYC at Mercer Union (2018). His solo exhibition Open Fist, Closed Palm at Zalucky Contemporary was awarded The Gattuso Prize for “Best Featured Exhibition” during the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival (2020). He graduated with a BFA in Photography from OCADU in 2018. His work is included in the collections of The Art Gallery of Ontario, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Ryerson Image Centre, Wedge Curatorial Projects, Royal Bank of Canada and numerous private collections.