Queer artist Jessie Edelstein is bringing ‘ugly glamour’ to ‘hot girl summer’
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
Escaping from the cookie-cutter suburbs to New York and LA, Jesse Edelstein is the queer artist encouraging a “growing acceptance of one’s personal autonomy.”
Courtesy of @jessi3.mp3
NAME JESSIE EDELSTEIN
AGE 23
LOCATION Los Angeles, United States
STAR SIGN Virgo
May Garland: Hey Jessie! What are you up to today?
Jessie Edelstein: Hi May! It's really beautiful out today so I decided to go sit outside at this cafe near my place.
MG: What first drew you to the creative world?
JE: Growing up in a cookie cutter, suburban environment on Long Island, I was discouraged to explore visual art and creative expression. I even had a teacher in grade school who ripped my doodles out of my notebook and told me that they were the reason why I was “doing poorly in school.” It wasn't until I was 17 that I realised I was neglecting the drawing and painting abilities that I possessed my whole life and started taking art classes. Since I'm no longer living in that stifling environment, I feel more motivated to fully embrace the creativity and self expression that I had to repress for so many years.
MG: How would you describe your style and practice to those who don’t know you?
JE: Overall, my look is really informed by this idea of ‘ugly glamor’ which originates from my own drawings. Although my style is always evolving, I pretty much love anything that is tacky, trashy, and/or ironic specifically from the 2000's. I love pop culture and nostalgia so I'm always looking to those things for inspiration. I've been describing my current personal style iteration as ‘off-duty reality star circa 2005’.
MG: In a world of evolving technology, streaming, videos and ultra-futuristic formats like Augmented Reality and VR, mp3 can almost at times feel retro. What does the mp3 in your name mean to you?
JE: Very true! The ‘mp3’ part in my name refers to my upcoming Jessie.Mp3 performance project. Jessie.Mp3 serves as my avatar (or a ‘digitalgurl’ as I like to call her) who materialises in physical form for live performances. I've been collaborating with this amazing 3D artist named MEREDITH who's been helping to bring my avatar to life. For my performances, I plan on lip syncing to different original audio and music tracks on shuffle while having to deal with vocal glitches and other robotic interferences from digital world, a fictional landscape I created in which Jessie.Mp3 exists. An mp3 is a digital music file so I felt like it was fitting for this project.
MG: What do you think is going to be the ‘next big thing’?
JE: Between the normalisation of plastic surgery and the growing acceptance of one's personal autonomy, I think we're going to see more and more people embracing extreme looks in the near future which I'm honestly really excited about.
MG: If you could live only on the URL or IRL, which would you choose?
JE: Wow, this is such a good question! I'd say both. I'm actually reading this book right now called Glitch Feminism that discusses this idea. The author, LEGACY RUSSELL, states that we've reached a point where digital identities directly inform our ‘away from keyboard’ identities, creating a blending of the two. I really relate to this idea since my digital avatar allows me the freedom to visually express myself in a way that isn't possible yet with my human form.
MG: How does technology and queer identity inform your work?
JE: I believe queerness isn't something that has to be mutually exclusive to sexuality and/or gender identity, it's more like a state of being. To me, it's about being authentically yourself in a world that isn't set up for you to thrive in. For example I feel the most authentic when I'm in my look despite the fact that it's not as socially acceptable as other forms of self expression. I'm really interested in the intersection of augmentation and autonomy and how advancing technology can help evolve human self expression. I like to theorise about the idea of ‘digital plastic surgery’ where you could simply use something like an app to customise and augment your face.
MG: What’s been the biggest pinch me moment for you so far?
JE: Probably moving across the country from New York to LA this January! I'd never visited LA or even been to the West Coast before but I had a feeling that it would be right for me and so far I love it here. Being able to walk outside my apartment and see blue skies, palm trees, and colourful flowers has been really surreal. And I've already had some really amazing career opportunities out here too which have been equally surreal.
MG: What three things are you obsessed with at the moment?
JE: ED HARDY HATS, Flickr, DJ LADY TRIBE.
MG: Can you tell us your most embarrassing story?
JE: One time I wore my eight inch stripper heels to the club and as I was walking down from the rooftop I slipped and fully fell down an entire flight of stairs. But lemme just say, that did not stop me from wearing my pleasers to the club for many nights to come.
MG: Biggest fashion faux-pas?
JE: Never had one, I'm perfect! <3
MG: What are you currently working on?
JE: Recently, I've been really trying to nail down the specifics for my upcoming Jessie.Mp3 performances. I've also been working with producers on some new tracks that I'm really excited about.
MG: If you could collaborate with anyone, who would be at the top of the list?
JE: If you asked me this a year ago I would have said SOPHIE who continues to be my biggest inspiration. Now I'd say either CHARLI XCX, LADY GAGA or RYAN TRECARTIN who are some of my other big inspos.
MG: Who are your favourite fashion designers at the moment?
JE: My favorite designer of all time will always be THIERRY MUGLER. The visuals for his most recent Spring/Summer 2021 show really sent me.
MG: Any guilty pleasures?
JE: Of course! Cosmic brownies, trashy reality tv, talking shit.
MG: Biggest turn-off on a date?
JE: Being a man...JUST KIDDING! I really don't vibe with anyone who is inauthentic or judgemental so I'd say that.
MG: 2021 predictions?
JE: Maximalism.
MG: Any last words?
JE: Alexis Neiers wore four inch little brown bebe shoes to court and don't forget it!!!!
