Apr 29

Apr 29 PHOTOGRAPHER JEREMY PELSER

Art, Creative People, Culture, Interviews, Photography

Cape Town based filmmaker, photographer, model and a recent film school graduate

Your greatest inspirations or influences?

I am heavily influenced by the idea of time, outer space, youth culture and queer identities. These elements follow me in every aspect of my self expression; from how I dress, the music I listen to, and of course, the images I create.

Tell us a bit about your creative process and things you are looking forward to this year..

Ideas will randomly pop into my mind at any given time, and I will write them down. After that I will spend some time finding the perfect model/s, team and references to make my ideas come to life. Even in post production, my process is constantly changing as I find new ways to create the look and feeling that I want in my images. Covid-19 has really set me back as I was supposed to travel to Europe to expand my horizons, but that will most likely (finally) happen this year as the vaccines roll out and restrictions start easing over time. There are a lot of creatives in Europe that I would love to work with this year, so making that happen will definitely be a highlight for me.

How has this year changed your creativity?

Not being able to shoot during most of the pandemic has allowed me to take a healthy distance from just constantly shooting. Instead, spending the time getting inspired by everything around me and from being at home all the time, doing nothing, and not having the constant urge to be productive. The whole world standing still and seeing how the art world is trying to adapt showed me how unpredictable and intense change can be - but it has been good in some ways, because I learned how to be patient.

Who do you consider to be an icon of our time?

Wow, so many people immediately popped into my mind, but for me, personally, it has to be Grimes & Elon Musk.

Do you think the art world needs to change, and if so how can it be improved?

I think it has changed a lot during the current times we are facing, and for the better in some aspects, but it also brought a lot of flaws to light.

What does wellbeing mean to you?

Since I quit my 9-5 in 2016, I decided to just do exactly what I want, and hoped that the pickings would be fruitful - and it has been. So with that, wellbeing to me means not having external factors influence your decision-making too much - and if you are lucky enough to be in a position to chase what you want, it would be dumb not to do it.