Jesse Ash (artist)

Changing Perceptions: the work of Jesse Ash

‘I’m interested in using the image to erase itself’ Ash, J (2007) UOVO: Jesse Ash by David Lewis. P141.

Those are the words of Jesse Ash when talking about his work in ‘Review’, his first solo show that featured in London and Los Angeles. I first encountered it at Zoo Art Fair in Shoreditch this year. It seems that the trend amongst artists currently is to change perceptions – but beyond the level previously reached. The main objective appears to be to pick apart an image, text, concept or object and find ways of presenting it that changes people’s perceptions of the original entity. For instance, Ash’s work uses a process of eliminating parts of an image, using numerous copies of the same image. Through a process of cutting and pasting – all done by hand – the images appear at first unedited. But once you gain the understanding of how it has been re-mastered, your initial perception of the image changes completely.

The content he uses is taken straight from the media – predominantly newspapers. This choice of material affects the context of the piece and alters the way it is read. For me, the first thing I took from the work is that you begin to understand how the media can doctor images and content to suit their own purposes – you can only see and read what they choose to show. This makes me wonder what is real and what is fake.

There is always that feeling that the media manipulates information and influences us in a way that suits them, and at first Ash’s work seems to be tackling that topic – he is critiquing the system. But upon further inspection it isn’t that simple. His interests lay more in the presentation of information and how it can be altered subtly.

This work, as well as his intention to change perceptions on a topic, Ash has successfully attempted to use a medium in a new way. When making collages, the work is usually geared towards portraying to the audience the process that has taken place, but Ash’s collages attempt to show a final image that could be the original itself, with the process only visible upon closer inspection. This allows the content in the image to be the main focus, unlike most collage work.

Collage comes from the word coller which means to glue. This process, or technique, was brought into the public eye through names like Picasso, but its popularity has grown more recently, with artists in the past 20 years choosing quite often to use this technique in their work. Usually the work carries a political message, whether that is positively conveying something to showing distaste towards a subject.

Collage in itself contradicts constantly – some artists choose to use it to allow the viewer to gain clearer understanding of the world, such as Ian Munroe, as he discusses in his work ‘ where does one thing end and the next begin?’ in Assembling Contemporary Art: Collage(2008), while others choose to subvert understanding through subtle changes that change viewers perceptions. Ash chooses the latter; he is interested in how mass media influences through how they present information, and the idea that it can be changed through subtle manoeuvres. He isn’t shouting down the system however, as he believes his work ‘uses the language of the framework, or system, that the work occupies, and then subverts it slightly’ Ash, J (2007) UOVO: Jesse Ash by David Lewis. P137. He doesn’t want to shout the system down because that would be naive and uninteresting of him. And I agree – it would seem rather a blasé and obvious way of doing things, and wouldn’t engage with the audience as much, as those who didn’t share his view would switch off. The way he chooses to tackle the subject invites all who see it to question their beliefs on what is real and what is fake. In Assembling Contemporary Art: Collage (2008.), Ash’s work stood out because it was far more subtle than those surrounding his. I think I was struck by his work because of the sense of realism it brings, in contrast to the technique of collaging, where most choose to use it to produce more surrealist work. I’m interested in creating work that that looks real – whether that be through drawing or painting (I like it to look as if it could be a photograph), to editing existing images into something different yet entirely believable.

This work struck me as something different and I found it also related to what I was studying at the time. I had chosen to explore the topic ‘old & new’, and I feel Ash’s work is seizing a rather new technique (something which is seen widely across image editing software) and using traditional, or ‘old’, means to produce the same effect. I actually think this makes for a more effective piece of artwork, as you get a sense of identity and appreciate the work that has gone into it. While the process he uses is much more subtle in its display than other collage, once an understanding of the process is gained, you can see the lengths it has taken just to make it look like nothing has been done.

After doing this essay, I talked to Jesse Ash about his work. This is what he had to say.

Originally I was interested in new Labour and their spin – it almost made aesthetics and packaging more important that the policies or content. I liked the idea of changing the images; I know I can erase elements enough for it to become an intriguing composition without becoming something entirely new. (Ash, 2009)

My only critique of his work was that there didn’t seem to be any explanation to the work – what the image was originally, what the meaning of the changes were. When I asked him, he said:

‘Referencing where it’s from takes away the meaning as the new image is what the real meaning is – it has become more important and interesting. It creates imagination.’ (Ash, 2009)

Jesse Ash’s work ran on a much deeper level than I had first understood, and it was only thanks to this research that I could truly understand it. But I suppose that is what art is really about. It allows you to be curious and learn something new.

‘I like to use what art has to offer: when you think about the general population, it’s a very small number that bothers to visit art galleries. But when they do, they go in with inquisitive minds, they open themselves to question things and explore. I like allowing people to do this.’ (Ash, 2009)