Jonty Knight

ALICE.D How do you use performance and fashion to express yourself?

Jonty Knight As a very young child, fashion was the first means through which I learned to express myself. Naturally, performance followed suit. Different clothes would bring out different parts of my personality, and through this exploration, I would create different characterisations of myself. It was, and still is, all in the name of fun. I see both as vessels for harnessing a deeper connection with myself while also reminding myself that I must not take life too seriously. I have always used performance and fashion to express myself in ways far removed from reality, creating a new space where there are no restrictions on how I need to exist. While I have predominantly used them for creative expression, they have in turn helped me develop into a stronger and more confident person. Although, oftentimes, I feel there isn’t really a specific way I use fashion and performance to express myself; rather, it’s how they use and lead me in the direction I need to go. I am but a puppet of something greater, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

ALICE.D How has your creativity transformed your view of the world?

JK It has provided me with the understanding that there are many ways to see the same thing—that the world isn’t so black and white but more what you make of it. Once you view the world through a creative lens, all the ‘boxes’ you thought existed in vanish. It has opened me up to new depths of understanding and observation. It makes this hellscape of a world a lot more bearable and exciting. Anything is possible, and nothing is as it seems.

ALICE.D How do you want people to feel when they interact with your work?

JK Honestly, I have learned to detach from any desire to control an outcome or create a specific reaction from people. I suppose that as long as they feel something, I’m happy. At the end of the day, I do it all for my inner child; the audience is just a part of it. 

ALICE.D Why do you think art is important for the people?

JK It challenges the status quo, encourages deeper modes of thinking, and can act as a direct form of communication with our subconscious. Least of all, it reminds us not to take things too seriously—that life really is what we make of it. It can encourage serious action as well as being ridiculously silly. That duality is both exciting and sexy; the world would be incredibly bland without it.

ALICE.D Tell us something unexpected about your creative process or flow?

JK I don’t have a fixed process, per se. It changes depending on the requirements of each idea and how the inspiration finds me in the first place. 

ALICE.D What is the most special item of clothing you own?

JK My Mim’s (Grandma’s) leather jacket, which she wore while riding motorbikes with my granddad, was my doorway into fashion and inspired my love for beauty and aesthetics. She truly is an icon. You have to meet her to understand. 

ALICE.D Where do you find inspiration?

JK Anywhere and everywhere. However, I feel you need a certain level of presence for inspiration to find you. Personally, being engulfed in nature acts as a direct line of communication with my creativity. Those close to me know that it’s my happy place. There’s something powerful about being present in the miraculousness of nature, igniting my senses and following my natural curiosity as a result. It almost always leads me exactly where I need to go at that moment. Yummy!