Kelly Kristin Jones is a mixed-media artist using photography to examine how the medium shapes exclusionary historical narratives. Her work reveals how visual print culture influences social perceptions of gender, race, and power. By collecting and manipulating contemporary print media, archival photographs, and personal images, Jones reconfigures familiar imagery to expose the constructed nature of representation. She positions photography as both subject and medium, critically engaging with the archive to question whose stories are preserved and whose are silenced. Rather than treating photographs as static records or true documents, Jones approaches our “empire of images” as a space for engagement, critique, and resistance. Through her practice, Jones reclaims agency and challenges historical narratives shaping collective memory.
CV available here.
Kelly Kristin Jones was raised on the West Side of Chicago and received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the recipient of a number of awards and fellowships including a 2024 Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award and an Individual Artists Program Grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. She was a featured artist in the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial and the 2023 Chicago Humanities Festival.
kelly@kellykristinjones.com