A Place Nobody Knows

“A place nobody knows” refers to a world formed through ones personal recollections in time - past, present and future. Whether it’s getting lost in a forest or flying down the motorway with a friend in your first car, the paintings prompts the viewer to recollect from moments of their youth to an era of freedom and innocence. The context behind the paintings are not real, but rather drawn from Jasper’s recollection of memories, jumbled together to create a place one might find themselves in while dreaming, revealing desires and intentions unconsciously through the making process.

In the current age of quick media and consumerism, people often feel a degree of listlessness with a lack of identity and purpose, in part due to the emerging threats of algorithms and artificial intelligence replacing professions people once found purpose in. Turning to nostalgia is longing for a time when things were ‘simpler’, or for a time when we felt more connected to others; all the more important at a time where genuine human connection is diminishing and replaced artificially.

Jasper develops his style alongside the contemporary youth which is in search for meaning in a culture of rapid production and disposal of media. With the return of interest in old film, music, off grid living and vintage fashion, the style is a reflection of the cultures Jasper was exposed to growing. For young adults like Jasper who have also experienced an age without internet, painting and creating is a way to find new experiences through exploring a past they never lived in and inspire a new sense of identity and culture.

As a young artist himself, Jasper’s work trawls through the past that is constantly regenerating and resurfacing itself, using salvaged motifs such as retro cars, old films and abandoned TVs to ultimately present an analogue edge reminiscent of the youth of yesteryear. These motifs acts as prompts to disrupt the humdrum of everyday life and echo a youthful desire to garner a nostalgia to an era perceived as being ‘simpler’. The use of soft edges and grainy texture sourced from the iconography of old films and photography is combined with abstract compositions to create an image that presents the uncanny in the ordinary.

Credits:

Exhibition Photos: @Lisaportinari

B&W Photos : @a_photo_by_ben

Space: Saan.1, Manchester, UK @saan1mcr