Jesse Pretorius’s series ICONOCLAST pulls from years of capturing Melbourne street life, personal encounters and moments of chance that feel just a little prophetic.
I spoke with Jesse about how he learned to shoot, the people who pushed him early on, and how this project quietly formed from his style and interests.
When did you start doing photography as an art?
Around 2018/2019, The work of Micheal Wolf and his work in Hong Kong kickstarted some more critical thinking around my practice and where I wanted to take it. I studied an undergrad in photography at ECU from 2020-2022, and had some great mentorship from photographer Claire Martin. Photography theory can be difficult to access outside of Uni unfortunately, but I did find the exposure to critical theory very valuable for my own practice.
Who, or what, has shaped your taste and style since then?
My first photography festival I exhibited at, FotoFreo, there was another photographer there named Billy Reeves, It was also his first exhibition. I had come into the show feeling pretty confident about my practice. Seeing Billy’s work humbled me fast. Amazing images, unbelievable stories, and a lovely human being. Billy keeps a lot of his portfolio under wraps, but I’ve had the privilege of seeing his work and it has really pushed me to be better and shoot more.
Another mate of mine, Nathan Alexander, pushed me a lot as well. Helped me start looking at things from outside of a typical photography perspective. I think in general this has made my practice more empathetic and curious. Psychogeography is one of his many fortes, the intersection of Psychology and Geography. He got me to read some great books that grew my practice a lot.
Do you have any milestones that you consider big steps on your photography journey?
Some recent ones have felt pretty good, I had some work shown at the Vogue Photography Festival in Milan this year. Also had some work up at the Pingyao festival in China last year. Happy to be showing internationally.
What about local inspirations? Who shoots Melbourne in a way that you love? What are some of your favourites from them?
Super long list. Some great work coming out of Scott Ransley, Hussein Abdirahman, Jesse Lee, Yuliang Seow, and Nathan Coote. Everyone has their different strengths.
Do you have a photo that you consider like the holy grail of street photography?
It would probably be hard to narrow it down to one, but the first body of work I think of is Jeff Jacobson’s “My Fellow Americans” from the late 70s to late 80s, Jeff Jacobson deserves much more posthumous recognition. I think his impact on modern documentary / street photography is evident.
Do you have a photo from this collection that you feel especially lucky to have captured?
A lot of street and documentary feels serendipitous, but the one that makes me think “That was crazy, I probably couldn’t get something like that again,” is this one.
I had moved to Melbourne a few months earlier, and was still kind of bumming it looking for work. My partner Lauren and I had ventured up to Ballarat for a halloween event at Kryal Castle (A medieval/ fantasy theme park). After a jousting and sword fighting show one of the horses was taken back to the stable, still painted in skeleton paint. It was pitch black, so I couldn’t really see what I was doing, the only light was from the flash. I looked at the photo and saw it was pissing.
Was just really interesting timing, cause I was starting to look into eschatology (religious study of the end of times, and religious symbolism) as a frame work for post-graduate studies in photography, and then this perfect example of something almost biblical, like one of the four horses of the apocalypse had appeared right in front of me.
Did the theme of this collection emerge naturally, or was it a conscious effort?
Kind of building from the previous point, I only really noticed a pattern in the kinds of subjects I was interested in after doing it for a few years. ICONOCLAST is informed by my worldview, but my worldview is also shaped by my photography.
Every now and then I’d get a shot and think, “this could work for this series”, or “it could pair nicely with this photo”, but I wasnt shooting with a result in mind. That being said, the kinds of places or events I would often go to were definitely with the project in mind. For every 50 keepers I’d take, maybe 1 or 2 would fit into the themes of the project.
Do you have other themes that you’re working on or considering?
My Honours supervisor Dr Ray Cook said something nearing the end of my thesis which has definitely rung true so far, the themes of ICONOCLAST are probably things that I’ll work on for the rest of my life. I don’t really feel overly bound to defined projects at this point in my practice, when things emerge maybe I’ll put on shows or make books.
I do try to change up technique or methodology every now and then based on how I’m feeling, or skills I’d like to practice or learn. I did a huge stint with flash so ive been trying to shoot less flash. Since it’s warming up I’m trying to spend more time shooting night time long exposures, I used to do it a lot in Perth and have missed it a little as my practice became more people-centric after moving here. Not sure I’ll do anything with the images, but I find it cathartic.
If you had an unlimited budget, how would you change your art practice?
I think I would travel more. I always value my photos at home the most, they feel the most important. But when you travel everything is new and interesting. I love seeing new things though, when you’re in a new place taking photos you’re on such a dopamine high.
I would love to spend extended periods in some places that aren’t on the typical destination list.
Thanks for the interview, anything else you want to promote?
I have a show coming up on the 13th of December 2025 in Perth at the Spectacle (259 Newcastle st, Northbridge). This is my first hometown solo show, and also my first time back in Perth since leaving 3 years ago. Launching a little book along side called ‘ICONOCLAST’, the first edition is almost sold out, but I intend on ordering another run in the near future so keep an eye out.
Thanks for having me :^)
More of Jesse’s work can be found on his site and Instagram.
