Tan-Jones’s determination to drum up a sense of ecological awareness in their audience is an extension of this desire for communal nourishment. In their acclaimed film Indigo Zoom, for instance, the artist adopts the persona of an oxygen mask-clad superhero called Indigo Zoom, and embarks on a mission to source clean air — a project inspired by London’s toxic pollution levels.
Much of Tan-Jones’s other work centres on the internet — they are known for their online alter-egos Una Jynxx and the Cyber Druid, part of what Tan-Jones terms “digital drag” — and their love/hate relationship with their cult online following, “You can find a community online that you might not find elsewhere,” they explain. “Before I lived in London, my escape was internet art spaces — I needed to find my people.” But recently Tan-Jones has grown concerned about the gap between “irl” existence and that of the cyber-world, questioning where the line is drawn, as well as the potential effect of the internet upon mental and spiritual health.
For this reason, the growing, “irl” Shadow Sistxrs community is particularly important to the artist – “it’s the project I have most put myself into, so it’s very ‘truthful’,” they explain. So while Una Jynxx and the Cyber Druid run riot in cyber-space, and Tan-Jones’s real life alter-ego, musician Yaya Bones, thrills everyone with plaintive sounds on stage, it is Tan-Jones themselves who is omnipresent in Shadow Sistxrs Fight Club. The resounding message the artist gives from this new platform is one of inclusivity, diversity, positivity and hope — in its most genuine form.