HOLD ON - JESSE OLSEN

Jesse Olsen has been a friend and contributing artist to Pass-Port for well over a decade. Olsen is an artist living on the Gold Coast/Yugambeh Country. Olsen’s illustrative style takes influence from the works of Richard Prince, Norman Rockwell and Dennis Hopper. Drawing upon photographs, paintings, and religious iconography his work is inspired by early Americana and turn of the century tattooing. 

The subjects of his pieces project a broken and rugged viewpoint of the world. From rodeo performers to the ‘Swansea Dance Hall’ dancers, Olsen plays with the contradiction of beautiful and miserable creatures. His work is imbued with the tension of bodies, from the short self-flagellation of the rodeo to the long marathon of dance competitions. 

Olsen works primarily with pencil and paper on a large illustrative scale. Evident in his pieces is a respect for solitary figures. The motif of loneliness and defeat is a reoccurring character. His work explores the performative nature of masculine culture, touching upon its isolating and pejorative nature. 

Drawing together the familiar and unfamiliar, Olsen links the similarities of West Coast America and the Australian countryside, from the eucalyptus lined streets to the unforgiving landscape designed to alienate life in it.

Each illustration consists of delicate details, thoughtfully observed.

“HOLD ON” by Jesse Olsen showcases his largest body of work to date. 

Words by Lara Sprem