I am from Maryland and have been living in Tokyo for 13 years. Got stuck due to COVID-19 for the last two but will return soon. I fell in love with literature once moving to Japan in 2006 and that carried me into films once I understood auteur theory. Seeing film as a director’s novel, the pen his camera, and actors his characters, I came to understand that style and prose came from overall shot style and composition. This brought about my expression in four different media:
The first is photography, I mostly shoot film in black and white. I self develop and darkroom print images of everyday life. The second is filmmaking, I have written and directed 12 short films holding my own screenings in Tokyo. My films usually arise out of my own problems or curiosities playing more to aesthetic theories of films while featuring persons of color because you just don’t see normal representation. The third is ikebana, I have been studying under the Sogetsu school for 10 years. I appreciate the structuring you learn in the balance of ‘shin, soe, hikae, and jushi’ and subsequent space in between. The fourth is collage.
I started creating them a half-decade ago using materials I find in recycling bins as a much more direct form of expression. I also write art reviews, essays, and film scripts. In all, I basically just have an idea and see which medium is best to express it, offering my perspective.
To learn more about Jesse’s work, follow on Instagram @jesselfreeman and visit https://linktr.ee/jesselfreeman