Artist Interview: Nick Jones

What effect has folklore had on the way you see the world?
It helps maintain that sense of wonder and awe in the world, and to respect our environment and the things that live in it as having their own force and agency in a society that increasingly seems to think that humans are the only species that matters.

What stories help you understand your surroundings and inform the way you interact with the world?
Elemental, place-based spirits or gods (wood sprites, Pan, kelpies and the like) are fantastic ways of interpreting their power of a landscape, whilst simultaneously connecting us to our ancestors who used such stories to make sense of and live within these worlds.

What political messages from folklore resonate with you?
That power does not always lie where some people think it does.

Do you see folklore as resistance, and if so, to what?
To the creeping disconnect from the world, nature, wildlife and sheer magic that exists. Rationality has its place, but we forget the mysterious, anarchic and wild at our peril. Not everything needs to be mediated through a screen.

What role do folklore and speculative fiction play in our modern world?
Folklore provides a steady background hum of lore, images and language that I can integrate into my work when the moment is right. I never know when that might be until it’s upon me.

Which folkloric character or creature do you hate/ want to punch in the face?

I wouldn’t dare.

Do you think of folklore as a thing of fear and warning or of mysticism and magic? Or both?

Definitely both. Isn’t a tiger a thing of beauty that could also bite your head off?

What do you hope the readers get from your piece?
A sense that that these stories and myths came into being because they had to.

What are the themes you are exploring? 

A wonder at the beauty of nature and wildlife, British myths, and the need to venerate and understand our world, whilst at the same time making it more fabulous and mysterious. Art’s job is to deepen the mystery, as Rothko said.

What aspect of the modern world is your piece commenting/reflecting on?
That some of us still need magic and mystery in our lives (we all do, probably, just some admit it more readily).

Tell us a little bit about yourself as an artist/writer:

I’m an artist based in Liverpool. I work in a variety of media (paintings, drawing, printmaking etc), but recently I’ve been concentrating on collage, both for the discipline of staying within one art form, but also for the dadaist / surrealist opportunities for unexpected comings together and the creation of impossible things.

If you were a cryptid or folkloric creature, which one would you be and why?
I’d probably just sit on a rock in a forest ‘vibing’.

You’re a forest-dwelling hag and you find an intruder in your garden. What symbolic plant, animal, or object are you turning them into and why?
A frog so they can take care of the slugs for me. No freeloaders allowed.

There’s a mysterious figure that lives near your village. Would you heed the warnings of the elders or venture into the unknown? And what everyday object are you taking with you for protection?
I’d pop along and bring some fresh scones to break the ice.

See Nick’s artwork in our second issue, available via our website www.folkloricmag.com

You can also follow Nick on Instagram @lemurpatrol and BlueSky @lemurpatrol.bsky.social