Jesse (born Leong Yuan Yi) was born on May 11, 2004, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She was raised as the only child in a devout Taoist family. Her father, who passed away in 2018, worked as a freelance electronics technician, repairing household appliances such as televisions, washing machines, and refrigerators. Growing up in a conservative household with modest financial means, she experienced a strict upbringing—especially concerning interactions with the opposite gender. From a young age, even casual behavior like having male friends or idolizing celebrities would be met with strong disapproval and shame-laden lectures from her father. While many of her peers had tablets and smartphones, her own childhood resembled one from the 1990s, shaped by limitations but also a unique form of resilience.

Curious and mischievous as a child, Jesse showed an early and intense passion for art. Though her parents may have initially enrolled her in coloring competitions by chance, her interest quickly grew into a self-driven journey. She began attending art classes in kindergarten and, by primary school, started drawing comics that chronicled her daily life in visual diary form. One of her earliest memories involves filling entire notebooks with rows of overlapping pencil circles before eventually experimenting with figures, colors, and mixed media like watercolor and crayons. Although she didn’t enjoy reading due to the overwhelming presence of text, she found joy and clarity in images.

Jesse’s early education took place entirely in Malaysia. She attended primary school in SJK(C) Batu 9 Cheras (2011–2016), continued her secondary education at SMK Cheras Perdana in Cheras Perdana (2017–2021), and later enrolled at Dasein Academy of Art in 2023 to pursue fine arts. Throughout her school years, she often felt alienated, struggling with peer relationships and social anxiety. Academically, she excelled in her early years, ranking among the top of her class, but later became disillusioned with rote memorization and struggled to maintain high grades. Art remained her favorite subject, although she was unable to take formal art classes for her SPM due to the pandemic.

Her teenage years marked a turning point as she discovered a vibrant online community of like-minded creatives. She began studying human anatomy through portrait sketches, exploring digital art by drawing on her phone screen, and immersing herself in art-related videos, websites, and books. Gradually, she developed her own style, turning drawing into a way to process emotions and express affection. A moment of personal clarity one night helped her realize her deep connection to both nature and spirituality, ultimately guiding her to pursue a career in the arts with renewed commitment and authenticity.

Jesse’s artistic practice explores the intersection of contemporary media and deeply personal, symbolic themes. Her work spans across photography, text, and image-based installations, often reflecting her ongoing inquiry into soulmates, femininity, self-exploration, dreams, imagination, religion, and cultural identity.

Her visual language often contrasts fluorescent hues with stark black-and-white minimalism—using color not for beauty alone, but to emphasize emotional urgency or spiritual weight. Fluorescent materials and UV-reactive elements appear regularly in her recent works, serving as both aesthetic and conceptual tools. The boldness of these tones is set against themes that are intimate, fragile, and philosophical in nature.

Jesse frequently draws from spirituality and her lived experience as a Malaysian woman, infusing her works with both cultural critique and introspection. She sees the body not as something to be hidden, but as a site of expression, desire, and conflict. Her work rejects bodily shame and challenges viewers to confront the complexity of sex, gender, and cultural differences with empathy and awareness.

Her 2025 piece Just a Bed marked her first foray into fluorescent liquid as a medium, illuminated under ultraviolet light. The work is both visually striking and conceptually loaded, representing a turning point in her artistic evolution. It also signals her intention to further incorporate unconventional materials into future explorations of intimacy and vulnerability.

Through her work, Jesse invites viewers to let go of moral rigidity and societal taboos—to see the body not as mechanical or shameful, but as a vessel of connection, curiosity, and truth.

Though still early in her career, Jesse has been recognized by several instructors and mentors for her maturity in addressing complex and sensitive topics through art. During her first public exhibition, many educators noted that her ability to confront themes such as sexuality, intimacy, and identity exceeded what is typically expected from artists of her age.

Among her peers, Jesse’s work often sparks curiosity, confusion, or discomfort—especially when it touches on subjects like interethnic love, physical desire, or bodily boundaries. Some responses have been dismissive or even mocking, revealing the cultural unease surrounding these conversations. Instead of shying away, Jesse takes such reactions as motivation to deepen her research and refine her expression, believing that better articulation can open new pathways for dialogue.

Her work is driven by a commitment to challenge taboos surrounding the body, sex, and emotional vulnerability—particularly within the context of growing up in a traditional Chinese-Malaysian household, where such discussions are often suppressed or ignored. She confronts the gaps in sex education and emotional literacy that arise when these topics are absent from family discourse, offering her art as a form of alternative storytelling and truth-seeking.

Looking ahead, Jesse hopes her work will not be misinterpreted as pornographic or provocative, as has happened historically with some classical nude paintings. Rather than being reduced to objects of sexual gaze, she believes that representations of the body deserve to be understood through a lens of respect, complexity, and care. Her vision is to help reshape how society views physicality—encouraging people to distinguish desire from dignity, and to move away from harmful assumptions that contribute to both subtle and systemic forms of harassment or violence.