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Blending Bodies: Scent as an Ecological Language
Jake Eshelman (b. 1989, USA) is a photo-based artist and visual researcher exploring the complex relationships between people, our environment, and everyone we share it with. Working to transcend the notion that humanity is somehow separate from—or superior to—the natural world, his work creates opportunities to address anthropocentrism and (re)consider our ecological kinships.
Eshelman has exhibited work internationally, most notably at Vantaa Art Museum Artsi in Helsinki, Finland; Contemporary Calgary in Alberta, Canada; Houston Center for Photography in Houston, TX; The Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at Cambridge University, UK; Rhode Island School of Design, RI; The Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland, OH; The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington D.C.; Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, UK. His work is in the permanent collections at Harvard University and the Chicago Design Museum. His photographs have been included in independently published photo books, collaborative artist books, and even a children’s book by Simon & Schuster encouraging aspiring creatives to pursue artistic careers. He has also been featured in numerous publications including National Geographic, Texas Monthly, The World Sensorium / Conservancy, Trouvé Magazine, and Then There Was Us, among others. He is a recent recipient of the City’s Initiative Grant administered by Houston Arts Alliance, as well as the Idea Fund individual artist grant funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and administered by DiverseWorks, Aurora Picture Show, and Project Row Houses.
Complementing his creative practice, Jake is also a writer and emerging scholar. In addition to his forthcoming publications through the Sophia Centre Press and the University of Reading, Jake also serves as the Contributing Editor of Ecological Thinking with Plantings Journal. Beyond the written word, he thoroughly enjoys conversing and lecturing about the issues he explores in his work, as well as the value and validity of artistic research practices.
Jake is currently pursuing his MA in Ecology & Spirituality from The University of Wales, Trinity Saint David. He holds a BA in Classical Literature, with a concentration in mythology, hermeneutics, and reception theory from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX, as well a minor in Studio Art and Art History. Jake is also a member of The Fairy Investigation Society. He is currently based in Houston, TX.