Defining the work of artist JESSE DISS simply as pop art is something of a simplification. He uses a variety of materials and mixed media in line with his own unique perspective.
Akin to many of the great artists of this genre before him, he has an impish loathing of today’s mainstream popular culture – and, as such, enjoys commenting on the society in which he lives. He brings an irreverent but acutely observed edge of humour to all his work, and embraces a neo-modernist kitsch - but genuine - love of colour to express himself. He’s a true polymath - his mediums are far-ranging (music, animation, mixed media, wood or metal) and his influences as diverse as a vivid dream he had or an advertisement he may have seen.
My very immodest hope is to influence others with my art, adding a new element to their lives and their environment - something that might make them question their perception of reality" - says Jesse.
Fun and authenticity are at the heart of everything he does, and his genuinely underground take on the world has little time for pretension: for Jesse, art is always “the thing: You do it if you believe it. I don’t want to hide my work behind unintelligible concepts to try and make it saleable - once I’ve made it, it exists.”
That is the very real alchemy of Jesse Diss’s charm - he lives in almost a Carrollean Wonderland of the beautiful, the absurd and the grotesque; and his view of the world really is his own... it’s just fortunate he chose to share it with us.
- Studio 3
