photos by Jesse, intro by KAI1


"I've taken to calling Jesse's photographs "Gutter Photojournalism". They invoke a remarkable aura of the underbelly of misanthropy, a world full of characters either genuine or self contrived. You can almost smell the dirty concrete and sweat in his photos. His quick hand captures grit and pores, alcoholic madness, true scum, freewheeling art exhibitions, pure evil, madness, and the ever present soul of the rag tag masses fighting for freedom from ennui. He takes the pictures that I wish I could take but something inside me won't let me. He captures those split seconds that always seem to melt away as my hand goes for my camera. He makes the bad look good and the absolutely shitty look holy. He has a really interesting blog at http://youvegotnothing.blogspot.com"

I would only add that these images are compelling, tragic (some), perverse in a voyeuristic way, making them all that more attractive, as well as being unceremoniously prideful and unabashed in their brutal honesty. It is a "slice of life" that many of us are too ashamed or embarassed to acknowledge, in it, we see our own fragility. In the spirit of Larry Clark and Nan Goldin, these photos by Jesse might shock and appal you, but I promise you, they won't leave you indifferent. Kevin Freitas