Jesse Pollock’s sculptural practice is rooted in the exploration of material, tradition, and the contradictions of contemporary rural life. Working primarily with cast and sheet aluminium, he distorts and reconstructs familiar objects—flowers, skulls, ladders, and flagons—through cutting, welding, and sandcasting. His process transforms rigid metal into fluid, patchwork forms that appear both ancient and futuristic, their powder-coated surfaces gleaming like relics of an unknown past or dystopian future.
Jesse’s work is a meditation on the human condition, simultaneously addressing nostalgia, mortality, and the stark realities of modern life. By referencing objects embedded in the British pastoral imagination, he interrogates the tension between romanticised national identity and the harsher truths of class struggle, industrialisation, and political division. His sculptures act as contemporary memento mori—reminders of decay and impermanence—but they also contain elements of humour and resilience, reflecting the cyclical nature of destruction and renewal. Jesse’s practice is informed by traditional craftsmanship and modern industrial techniques. The immediacy of welding and plasma cutting allows him to work instinctively, emphasising physical engagement with his materials. He often revisits and replicates singular actions—biting into clay, melting and reforming metal—highlighting the significance of repetition and labour in artistic creation.
Whether towering public sculptures or intimate, hand-wrought objects, Jesse’s works offer a poignant critique of the nostalgia that pervades Britain’s national consciousness. His sculptures reveal the contradictions within our relationship to the land, tradition, and survival, asking urgent questions about what we value, what we seek to preserve, and what, ultimately, we are willing to sacrifice.
Jesse has shown large-scale public work as part of ‘Sculpture in the City’ (2021), and presented a solo show with Steve Turner LA and duo exhibitions with George Rouy at Hannah Barry Gallery in London and the Material Art Fair in Mexico City. He has been featured by a number of noteworthy London galleries such as GROVE, Bold Tendencies and Brooke Bennington. Jesse’s upcoming group show at Gallery Hioco Delany, Antwerp, will open 23 May – 21 June 2026.