About
Jesse Grooten (08-08-1997) is a Dutch artist specialised in creating surrealistic dream images through photography and digital retouching. His work reflects his introspective journey where he investigates the expression, processing and imagination of his emotions.
The connection between the physical and mental world is key in his work; one visible, the other hidden. By depicting themes such as love and suffer from the mental world, Jesse aims to make his feelings tangible and transcend the physical world. His introspective perspective often leads to surrealistic self-portraits.
An important theme in Jesse’s work is the relationship between humanity and nature, He looks for symbols that reflect this relationship. This theme is often expressed by depicting the power of the elements of nature, which he describes as “explosive”. These forces also serve as the expression of the feeling of inner chaos.
He makes his art in an absurd, alienated and styliséd way by means of digital technology. Photos are assembled into digital montages in which new realities are brought to life. He works in an intuitive way; a feeling arises to his imagination where he then needs to give expression to.
Fotograaf: Anna Perger
Biography
At the age of 11, Jesse started editing his own photo’s digitally. At 16, he entered the spotlight with his work “Hersengolf” as a participant in Kunstbende, a national contest for upcoming creative talent, and won the second place.
In 2015, he participated in the art manifestation Blauwdruk, a 33-hour marathon where various artistic disciplines were exhibited. There he showed the work “Ervaar het Nieuwe OV” 5 x 3 m in size. In 2016, Jesse became a member of the art collective Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam and exhibited two times at the Kunst10daagse in Bergen aan Zee.
In 2019, Jesse graduated from the Utrecht School of the Arts and in the following years, he traveled to Southern Europe and North Africa. He visited central Italy, southern Spain and crossed Morocco. In particular, the different landscapes, especially the Moroccan desert inspired him to incorporate both introspection and the outside world as a source for his surreal work.
Written by Amber van As