10 Questions with Sunahtah Jones

Sunahtah Jones is an Atlanta-based Surrealist Digital Artist and Photographer, specializing in digital illustration, street photography, and portrait photography. Raised in Hackensack, New Jersey, Sunahtah began creating at a very young age, using mediums such as poetry, drawing, and painting to understand the world and themselves. In 2014, Sunahtah purchased their first amateur camera for what started as a soothing hobby. After leaving academia in 2020 to dedicate themselves to their photography and digital art full-time, Sunahtah moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and started their own Professional Digital Arts brand, SPICECAMVISUALS. Their pieces have been published in digital magazines such as Voyage ATL, Malposition Magazine. Additionally, Sunahtah’s artwork is available in limited-edition print, as well as NFTs.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

Inspired by the dynamic world and energies around them, Sunahtah’s artwork centers afrofuturism, deep earth tones, vibrant hues, raw emotion, and alternate realities woven together into one piece. By using surrealism to mesh together different objects, experiences, and shades that otherwise would not be viewed in the same situation or artwork, Sunahtah transmutes the complexities of human thoughts and understanding into digital mediums. Through their artwork, Sunahtah seeks to spark deep emotion and profound thought in viewers, encouraging the interrogation of intricate notions, sub-consciousness, and the multidimensional quality of all of our individual yet often blended realities.

Psychedelic, Photoshop, 3000x3000 px, 2021 © Sunahtah Jones

INTERVIEW

First of all, tell us a little bit about your background and studies. How did you start making art? And are you still following the same aspiration?

I have a pretty academic background. I received a Master's degree in Women's & Gender Studies in 2019 and had originally planned to pursue a doctoral degree in the same discipline. However, I realized that throughout my program, I had been trying to incorporate my art into my academic work because that's where my heart always was. Nothing fulfilled me the way my art did. I started making art when I was very young, and poetry was my first artistic medium. I would write poems and short stories, and then I started to draw as well. Art was always a safe haven for me and helped me both understand myself and conceptualize the worlds around me. Today, I'm still learning so much about myself and the worlds around me through my art, and I hope it does the same for those who view my work.

What is your personal aim as an artist?

My personal aim as an artist is to evoke deep subconscious thought and emotion in the viewer by transmuting the complex connections of differing realities into digital art. My work often contains layers that otherwise would not be viewed in the same scene - encouraging the viewer to question their conceptualization of each component both individually and as an integral aspect of the entire artwork. I want my work to not only be viewed but truly thought-provoking and felt.

HigherSelf, Photoshop, 1500x1050 px, 2021 © Sunahtah Jones

Your art is influenced by Surrealism, yet you use modern technologies. How did you develop this style?

I have always been particularly enamored by Surrealism, especially Frida Kahlo's work. When I was a child, I would look at her work and wonder if there was a way that I could do that in my own way. As a photographer, I taught myself how to use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to edit photos. I wanted to do more with Photoshop, but I didn't know which feature to even start with. One day, I opened up Photoshop, used one of my self-portraits as a base layer, and utilized whichever tools felt right to me. That day, I created my first digital art piece and NFT, "Mind-Blown". I developed my digital art style through self-discovery and digital exploration.

In your statement, you talk about "afrofuturism". Can you explain to our readers what it is and how it influences your art?

Afrofuturism is the convergence of different cultural, philosophical, and artistic components of the African diaspora - the global dispersion of peoples from Africa during the Transatlantic Slave Trade - with technology and celestial bodies. Illustrating Black people, particularly in a way that isn't grounded in the traumas that we experience, is central to my art. Afrofuturism both informs and inspires my execution of this in my art.

Gates To The Sun, Photoshop, 1080x1080 px, 2021 © Sunahtah Jones

Where do you find inspiration for your work, and what is your creative process like?

I find inspiration for my work everywhere. Every day I am inspired by the world and auras around me. My creative process is very divergent. I create my best work when I allow ideas to flow to me organically and when I am open to the energies around me, as opposed to forcing ideas. Once an idea sparks in my mind, I build on it by writing it down, along with keywords, to help me build the image mentally. Then, when I start to build the piece in Photoshop, it's a series of artistic trials and errors until I connect all of the right puzzle pieces to reflect the absolute best version of the image in my mind. While some of my artwork has taken me a few hours to complete, there are also many pieces that have taken me days or longer to finish fully.

You are also the founder of SPICECAMVISUALS. Tell us more about it.

SPICECAMVISUALS is my digital art and photography brand, which I created in August 2020. It is an extension of myself and my artistry. I conduct my freelance work through SPICECAMVISUALS and also use it as my art alias as well. Presently, I am continuing to build on SPICECAMVISUALS as an entity. I'm active on all major social media platforms and two NFT marketplaces. I also have a YouTube channel dedicated to art, my creative process, and my journey as a digital artist.

You also work with NFTs. What do you think of this new trend so far? Did you have any success in promoting your NFTs and what was the reaction of the public and collectors?

I think that it's an amazing and still very new sector of the digital world that has immense potential. Cryptocurrency is the future of currency in the world that we live in, and I frequently encourage other artists to become more well versed in both crypto and that realm of art. I've sold my first digital art piece, "Mind-Blown", and that was such an awesome accomplishment for me. I have received a lot of positive feedback regarding my NFTs because of my imagery and the uniqueness of my artistic style, especially when I turn my pieces into motion art.

What about the public? Did you experience any change or improvement over the last year? Do you think people are more attentive now than pre-Covid?

I have absolutely experienced major changes and improvements over the last year. During the lockdowns, I used that time to research, practice, and become more skilled in my photography and digital art. I became more skilled at Graphic Design as well. I also became a part of the NFT community and have met many wonderful and extremely talented artists. In this past year, I also became far more present on major social media platforms and completely changed the branding for SPICECAMVISUALS. I think that way more people are attentive to digital art now compared to pre-COVID because explosions of artistic creation usually accompany any pivotal time in human history - grabbing the attention of viewers. We can't interact in person the same way we did pre-COVID, and as a result, people have been interacting more in online/digital realms.

How did you keep your followers and collectors engaged over the last year? Did you take part in any online exhibition or event?

I kept my followers and collectors engaged by being myself authentically - a dynamic artist who is diligent with my crafts and consistent with how much content I release. Additionally, being present on and engaging with major social media platforms and NFT marketplaces has been very important for my artwork and brand. As I grow creatively, I have been building on my artistic style, incorporating new/different elements into my work while also exploring different mediums, such as film. One of my favorite things to do is show before versus after visuals of my work - which allows the viewer to see what a pre-edited photo looks like through my eyes and in my mind. Creating my YouTube channel has also kept my followers and collectors engaged because it allows my audiences to get an inside look at who I am as a person and my creative mind. Over the last year, I have been a part of multiple virtual interviews and publications via digital art magazines. I will also be hosting a special community event in Atlanta, GA, in which several photographers will be coming together to do free professional headshots for Black LGBT+ people in the city.

Higher Learning, Photoshop, 1000x979 px, 2021 © Sunahtah Jones

Finally, what are your plans for the future? What do you think (and wish) the future holds for us?

I have huge plans for the future. I am dedicated to my growth and will continue to pour myself into my artwork and the expansion of my brand. I want SPICECAMVISUALS to become a household name. I want my art to touch souls around the globe and be seen on billboards, in galleries, museums, and homes. But, that's just the tip of the iceberg for me. In the future, I want to create safe spaces for Black queer youth by teaching them about photography, digital art, and NFTs, and providing them with equipment that would otherwise be very expensive and inaccessible. Art both informs us and is informed by the world around us. Art amplifies love and freedom. I think that the digital art world, especially, is going to expand in groundbreaking ways. I hope that art continues to bring us together and remind us of the importance of collective humanity.

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