ABOUT ME

They call me Jesse, but I also go by J*Woo. I grew up in Perth, Western Australia, on the south-side of the river. The first time I started paying attention to any art was during my teenage years, introduced to me through hip hop culture and street art. I took serious interest in the 4 elements of hip hop - breaking, graffiti, DJ’ing and MC’ing - where I learned about what it means to create art and express myself. Breaking was the artform that I enjoyed and practiced the most, but through graffiti and street art, I started to learn and appreciate more about all sorts of artists like FUTURA 2000, JR, Banksy, Kenny Scharf, EARSNOT, Shawn Stussy, Ricky Powell and Bobby Hundreds.

I never knew what I wanted to specifically be, however. I overzealously knew I wanted to make cool shit and be recognised for it. At 19 yrs old, I started actively drawing, drafting, designing and creating pieces in various formats. Over the passing years, I got into making beats, drawing, designing, film photography, building furniture and rapping.

Nowadays I mostly take film photos, and train in calisthenics and Muay Thai.

ABOUT JETSU

JETSU is the brand for all creative ventures, products and ideas that come from mind and efforts of me, Jesse. The beauty of JETSU is that it is not limited any one form of art or media format, which allows JETSU the capacity to indefinitely expand to other creative branches.

JETSU was created with the idea that there are no limitation on what a JETSU product could be; the only criteria is that it comes from my mind. The conceptual vision for JETSU was inspired by ACME, the fictional company of the Looney Tunes universe, which seemed to have limitless bounds providing Wile E. Coyote all sorts of products, gadgets and devices from matches, to rocket-powered skates, to earthquake pills, to even ‘instant’ products like instant road and instant ice makers. There seemed to be no product the company couldn’t make, which made ACME feel like whatever you needed help with, this one company can do it for you. I wanted JETSU to feel like that.

JETSU was created with the idea to stand out and be uniquely unconventional pieces. This conceptual vision for JETSU was from a pretentious spite I had for big stores and corporations as I’d end up seeing all the same barely stable ikea furnitures, generic artworks, decor and when I’d visit friends and associates’ homes or workspaces. I thought it was dumb and ironic to be an artist or creative, yet have the exact same home setup as everyone else; absent of your own personal touch. Aurtistic integrity to me involves being yourself, which doesn’t always mean standing out, but it does mean being unique and not alike anything else. I wanted JETSU to feel like the things I make could not be found anywhere else.

JETSU products that have been published and released include film photos, zines, drawings/paintings, poems, wardrobes, shelves, benches, a beat-tape, a mixtape, and an album.

ABOUT

Jetsu Photos is the branch that focuses on film photography specifically. I prefer to use film, as it has a certain aesthetic that differs from digital photos as texture, grain, highlights and mood feels different.

I got into film photography after years of playing with a point and shoot camera. I got a Yashica Lynx-5000 from an ex in 2014, and loved how my first roll of film turned out. I now mostly use my Minolta x-300s to shoot on.

What I love to shoot most are candid moments of beauty, that lasts for just a fraction of a second. The authenticity of those pure moments really allows me to capture people for who they really are. My favourite way to shoot is ‘sniping’ - patiently waiting to capture the moments that have the most energy or aesthetic composition. I find catching people as they are, rather than posing cuts their own filter of how they’d want to be perceived; It helps capture the local subcultures and community as they really are. I love to shoot outdoors in the natural sunlight, which is best for film in my opinion as it gets the best hitting light.

What I really want out of JETSU PHOTOS is to work with my local community of artists, to catch people in their element. I’m hoping one day to see people using my film photos for promo, artwork, lookbooks, photo journalism, documenting culture, or just as a keepsake.

Not everything I shoot is candid; I do like photoshoots too and would like to do more, I just prefer some kind of concept behind it.

One day I will have a massive collection of painters, singers, dancers, fighters, models, creators and more, all in their element; whether they’re tinkering, practicing, performing, creating, designing or just vibing out.