Jesse Devost

I always wonder what is behind (or on top of) what we see and identify in a sense of place. Furthermore, it is difficult to see the marks we leave on the earth while at ground level. Looking at a location from above allows us to contextualize our impacts on a landscape in a way that provides a fuller meaning. My paintings attempt to communicate the possible motivations for marks we leave – sometimes to question them or sometimes to simply indicate their existence.

I have a degree and professional background in Geography and spent 10 years working as a cartographer, producing maps of human activity and the natural environment. My view of the world and of human behaviour is seen through a geographical lens. Pursuing painting has been the purest way I can communicate the way I see and imagine the world that we live in.

My paintings are cartographic and often feature highly derived levels of symbolism (sometimes paired with highly simplified photographic elements) to illustrate a location or human impact upon it. I am drawn to using highly oversimplified symbology in my artwork because a landscape reduced to generic symbols gives opportunity for differing viewer impressions – a hope for the paintings is that the viewer will superimpose their own sense of geographical emotion on the work.

I have lived and worked in Whitehorse since 1998, and I have traveled to many places – remotely within the territory and internationally, mostly in Asia and the south Pacific. Observing different locations and how we adapt to them is the primary inspiration behind my work.

Jesse Devost's Work in the Gallery

Some of the work Jesse Devost has in the Gallery is featured below. Please contact us if you have questions about any of the pieces or other works we may have.