"Jonathan Anderson conjures up a subterranean nation - 'Coalodonia'.  This is an internal, subconscious dark terrain.  He mines for diamonds, but digs up coal.  carbon is the foundation of life; coal and diamonds are both derived from carbon.  With extra heat and pressure a coalfield is transformed into a diamond field.  It is the grit that makes the oyster; with such sensibilities alchemy becomes possible.  The humble material of coal is transformed through creative engagement into artistic gold."

Peter Finnemore   

2008

"Jonathan Anderson has utilised coal as a material in his work for
the last two years. Aware of the temptation to slip into cultural
cliché, Anderson presents an ongoing poetic drift of marks and
symbols upon found objects including lining paper, cardboard,
souvenir trinkets and bank-notes. A smear of coal dust becomes
a residue, like a stain, of past industry. Formerly seen as the
material invigorating many Welsh communities, notwithstanding
the hardships endured in mining it - now perceived as a dirty fuel
that is endangering the planet, coal has taken on an ambivalent
status and what once was celebrated is now shunned. Anderson
describes coal as 'a dark, mysterious, almost mythical material'.
By tainting everyday objects with this evocative and malevolent
substance he plays with archetypal forms that resonate within the
human psyche."

Tim Davies    

2009