Undressed Series - In conversation with Jonty Knight
Jonty Knight’s work explores archetypes, awakens beauty and reflects the inner workings of culture, as a model muse and art director with no interest in stopping there. After relocating to Naarm from South Africa in 2018, Jonty’s ambition and authenticity permeated the Australian art scene with force. Having directed campaigns for Adidas and Dell, aside her dazzling modelling prowess, Jonty embraces queer otherness, its undeniable uniqueness and its innate sense of limitlessness into her work. We sat down with the heartful multi-disciplinary to talk the mundane realities that inspire her transformative approach to creativity.
When do you feel most like yourself
I feel the most myself when I’m with my family, both chosen and blood related. I am naturally quite shy and introverted, so it can take me quite a while to let my walls down. With my family, there’s no masking, no judgement or fear, just blissful & wholesome joy. Nothing quite compares.
What part of getting ready for the day brings you the most pleasure
My steamy morning shower, where I can wash off yesterday’s lingering energy and set the tone for my day, by taking the time to nourish my body and skin. I find it all quite meditative and it helps me feel an unshakable amount of peace.
What's on your bedside table
I’m quite particular and a-type about the way I upkeep my space haha, I don’t enjoy clutter or mess, especially in my small bedroom. I find there’s a direct relationship between the cleanliness of my room & my mental capacity so I try to find the balance between minimal/clean but cosy.
I’d believe you’d always find a cup of tea aside my current book of choice, my salt lamp alongside an assortment of raw cut crystals, a spider mounted in resin (I did this as exposure therapy to get over my arachnophobia haha), my incense burner and a cute little bowl for my silver rings. Not the most exciting but definitely calming for me.
What is your favourite (almost) free feeling
This one’s a bit extreme hahah, but no feeling has surpassed how free I felt skydiving. It was this complete release of any tension stored in my body, along with a sense of peace in succumbing to fate. Combined, it created this inexplicably free feeling on top of experiencing something one-of-a-kind and ridiculously beautiful. I could do it again and again. Not for all, but definitely for me hahaha.
What does being in love feels like for you
This is a difficult one to answer, my idea of what I know genuine love to be is continuously developing the more I experience a deeper level of it. I would say it feels like a warm cuddle after a cold and miserable day. A soft touch, a back tickle, a tender reminder that you see and are seen in your entirety, in a way that feels like home. It’s so hard not to fall into cliches but there really is no feeling quite as warm and giggly.
What's one thing you can't live without
Gahhh these questions really highlight my Cancerian nature hahah but to tie it back to the first question, I truly couldn’t get through this life without my family. To know I’m held, needed, supported and loved makes the complexities and tribulations of this life seem a little less overwhelming.
