The Contaminator Crew C/V & Press
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The Contaminator Crew (b. 1988) is a multi-sensory living art performance collective based in Los Angeles, dedicated to pushing the boundaries of art through vulnerable self-expression.
The artist Jessica Ludwick utilizes a technique she calls; Controlled-Disassociation. With 30 years of dance experience and 20 years in drawing and multimedia, she channels music to embody five ethereal personas, each with distinct artistic identities.
The Crew presents various performative, fine, fashion, literary, and video art, primarily created LIVE using oil sticks. Drawing from her gifts of empathy and intuition, The Contaminator’s career is a continuous performance that arises from real-life tragedies, interpreted ethereally for each project. The tangible souvenirs that remain from this creative chaos testify to her process. By sharing her life stories in real time rather than simply performing, she resonates deeply with her audience, capturing the hearts of everyday people.
Her creative process often manifests as an intense ache or anxiety that demands expression, propelling her to become an active street performer between commissioned art shows. In these unregulated spaces, she delivers messages through her art. Known by some as The Artist’s Artist her genuine expression serves as a muse, guiding many lost souls back to their crafts and helping them confront repressed feelings. Many connections with clients arise from the heartfelt, sometimes bizarre, creations that emerge from this energy-driven process, where the art speaks for itself, transcending the need for impressive résumés or follower counts.
The artist operates as a medium, absorbing surrounding energies and crafting multimedia works that evolve storyline by storyline rather than project by project. Her raw, vulnerable, and physical approach has led her to create for various organizations, including The Torrance Art Museum,T he Toledo Museum of Art, The Hive Gallery (L.A.), The Holy Art Gallery (Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris), and scholarships with NIPAI (Berlin, Graz). Her work often addresses trauma, metaphysics, ethereal feminism, and mental health.
Her murals can be found across the USA, including at Dick Blick (L.A.), The Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center (Leimert Park, CA), and Trottn’ Charlies Bar (Toledo, OH). Additionally, her performances and drawings have garnered commissions from Space Coyote (L.A.), the L.A. Short Short Film Festival, Prism Entertainment (Portland, OR), ProMedica (Toledo, OH), ArtBar LA (Los Angeles), and the Moah Cedar Museum (Lancaster, CA).
When not performing, she trains intensely, three to six days a week, as an art-lete ensuring she is always performance ready.
This unique blend of physical dance, fashion, and fine arts has led to her publication in magazines such as Seline (Amsterdam), Style Cruze (Los Angeles), Roll Up (New York), and Darkly (Paris). Always prepared for her next artistic endeavor, she remains connected to the universe and strives to engage people with the magnificent power of the human heart.
“Our entire career is a performance the art is just a souvenir of the experience..”
— The Contaminator
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Deliliah’s Garden, Verón, Los Angeles, Ca
2020 Into the Chaos Gate, Stay Gallery, Downey, CA
2019 How to Plant a Rose, SE Grind, Portland, OR
2017 Chaotic Intrusions, Bleakhouse Coffee, Toledo, OH
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Europe On The Loop, The Holy Art Gallery, Amsterdam Netherlands, Brussels Belgium, Paris France
2023 The Banana Show, A Blank White Box, Highland Park, Ca
2023 Moah Cedar Concert Series, Lancaster Museum of Art and History,
Lancaster, CA
2022 Stunt Driver Saga Release Concert and Pop-Up Show, El Cid, Silverlake, CA
2022 The King’s Court, The Hive Gallery, DTLA CA
2021 Master Blasters 13 Group Show, The HIve Gallery (Featured Artist)
2021 Sex Group Show, Ewkuks Gallery, West Hollywood,CA
2021 Divine PDX Group Show, Jacobsen Salt Co. Portland OR
2018 Raw Natural Born Artist’s Show, The Exchange, Hollywood,CA
2018 The Tarot Show Splendorporium Portland, OR
2017 Undisclosed Group Show, Toledo School Of The Arts Toledo, OH
2016 Hyter Portrait Show, Toledo Botanical Garden
2014 Hyter Portrait Show, The Art Supply Depot, Downtown Toleo
2013 Hyter Portrait Show, Inside Angles, Holland Sylvania OH
2012 Hyter Portrait Show, The Art Supply Depot, Downtown Toledo OH
Public Works and Murals
2023 Regrowing Her Wings, 8 x 22 ft oil-stick mural on transient, Private
Commission, Lake Bluff Illinois
2021 Gods of the New World, 8 x 28 ft oil-stick mural on wood panel, Fernando
Pullum Community Art Center, Leimert Park, C
2021 Outside Mural, Dick Blick Art Supplies, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Public Art Commission, Mural, Trotin’ Charlie’s Toledo OH
Installations
2023 The Chaos Gate x Mind- Escape, People Muver Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca
2022 Predator’s Jungle for Cyber Castle, Coaxial Arts, DTLA
2021 Thiandra’s Manifestation, for Thy Love me Not!, Nomad Art Show, for
Torrance Museum, Del Amo Mall, Torrance CA
2021 Commissioned Installation for The Sugar and Shit Show, Hudson
Theater, Hollywood, CA
2021 Fertile Grounds, Master Blaster’s 13 Group Show, The HIve Gallery, DTLA,
CA
2022 Scott Free Her Metamorphosis, Her Power
(Multi-Media Works of Photography, Performance, and Fine Arts)
2020 New American and The Contaminator Present: Into The Chaos Gate
(An Immersive Installation and Live performance from the Contaminator
and New American Band LIVE at Stay Gallery, Downey Ca)
Commissions
2023 Concert Flyer, Paintings selected for MOAH Cedar’s Museum Concert
Series, Lancaster Ca
2017 Public Art Commission, large scale painting size and medium, Holey Toledo
Donuts, Toledo, OH
2017 Promedica Market on the Green, Chalk Mural, Toledo,OH
Curation/Direction
2022 Co-Curator of Stunt Driver’s Saga Album Release Pop-up Art
show, Silverlake, CA
2021 They Love me NOT!, Group Performance and Installation, Nomad Art
Show Torrance Art Museum, Del Ammo Crossing, Torrance, CA
2021 Tunnel Of Love, Multi-Media Installation, Immersed LA, Skid Row, Los
Angeles, CA (Accompanied by, Albert Abertson, Greg Geiser, Malik Willcot, CatLik,)
2020 Brainscapes, Group Performance and Live Art, Artbar LA, Mar Vista,Ca
Selected Live Art Performances
2021 Flower Launch Party, Space Coyote, DTLA, CA
Custom Live Drawing as Cotton Candy
2020 The National Arts Drive, Raw Artists, Duidough, Hollywood,CA Pop-Up
Performance Show and Art Installation
2019 Yheti Tour Deformed, Rose Entertainment, The Whiskey Bar, Portland CA
2019 Ritual: Snake Medicine, Living Prism, Bossanova Ballroom, Portland, OR
As Medusa
2018 Art Opera Live Art Stream, Cloud Farming Detroit, The Factory, Highland Park MI/Carr Park, Glendale, CA As The Contaminator
2017 Cellar Door 2, Tangent Gallery, What’s Snappin’ Productions Detroit, Michigan As Cotton Candy
Selected Performance Art
2023 Unwanted Emotion, The Holy Art Gallery Pop-Up, Paris, France
Raw Interpretive Performance as The Contaminator
2023 The Contaminator x Caitlin Fowler Sea of Emotions, Something Poetic,
DTLA Art Night, Los Angeles, Ca
2022 We Are What We Eat, inside Laurie Shapiro's "The Glendale Alteria"
Installation,
Glendale Galleria, Glendale, CA As The Contaminator
2022 Plasmic LIVE at Cyber Castel, Coaxial Arts, DTLA
As Isa
2022 The Jester’s Last Performance, The Hive’s 17th Anniversary Group Show,
The Hive Gallery, DTLA as Cotton Candy
2021 Candy’s Coffee Shop, L.A. Dance Shorts Film Festival , Los Angeles, Ca
As Cotton Candy
2020 Take Me to the Color, Performative Pop-Ups, Los Angeles, CA
As Cotton Candy and The Contaminator
Live Art Competition
2022 Art Battle, Wisdome, Los Angeles, CA
Competitor as Cotton Candy
2018 Art Battle Semi-Finals, Art Battle, The Great Northern, San Francisco, CA
Competitor as The Contaminator
Lectures, Presentations, Workshops
2016 Toledo League of Interventionists Launch Party, Seed CO-OP, Toledo, OH
2016 Drawing in the Galleries, Monthly Artist, Toledo Museum Of Art, Toledo, OH
Teaching Experience
2010-2016 Family Center, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo OH
Awards / Grants / Fellowships
2024 2nd Place in Dance Contest For Physical Action in Performance, NIPAI
Berlin, DE
2023 Full Scholar Ship For Dramaturgy of Physical Action, Art Universe (Graz,
Austria)
2022 Performative Scholarship for Dramaturgy of Physical Action, Art Universe
(Berlin, Germany)
2020-22 Resident Performance Artist, Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 Toledo League Leader, League of Creative Interventionists, San Francisco, CA
Independent Studies / Workshops
2023 3-Day Director’s Course, NIPAI, Online Course (Certificate Granted)
2022 Dramaturgy in Physical Action Workshop, NIPAI, Berlin Germany
2015-2017 Various Human Anatomy Workshops under Jennifer Giovannucci, The Art Depot, Downtown Toledo Ohio
2015-2017 Life Studies at Paul Geigers Studios
2012-2017 Hyter Portrait Group
Print Media
2025 (TBA) Swell Magazine, interview
2025 (TBA) Gelatin Magazine, Orlando Flordia
2024 Seline Magazine as Cotton Candy Collaboration with Scott Free
Amsterdam
2024 Darkfly Magazine with Ena Harlette (Paris)
2020 William Odis Martin, “Downey Band New American Playing Final
Performances Saturday'' The Downey Partriot, January 23, 2020. 1.
2018 Marie Phillippi “2018 Ice Cream Social In The Park”,
Brooklyn Neighborhood News, (November/December 2018). 3.
2016 Nic Thomas, “Lunch Break Downtown”, The Toledo Blade, September
30th, 2016
Radio/Television
2022 The People with Lauren Lake, "No Show on Court" (Aired 9.15.22)
Defendant as Angelica Jones
2019 Terry Burton, Interview of The Contaminator, Cloud Farming Detroit
Internet Radio May 13th, 2019
2018 Terry Burton & Kimmy Rose, Interview Cloud Farming in Detroit.88.1
FM, January 16th, 2018
Video Publication
[W.B] Performing Artist as Cotton Candy and The Contaminator Take Me To The Color [November, 9th 2020]
Online Periodicals
Johnny Otto, “The Contaminator, Art Squat Magazine, Vol 1, May 2020
Johnny Otto, “Cotton Candy”, Art Squat Magazine, Vol 1, May 2020
http://www.art-squat.com/articles/cotton-candy/
“Meet the Contaminator:, Voyage LA, Local Stories, December 10th 2021
“Meet The Contaminator; Multimedia Fine Artist, Messenger & Performer,” Shoutout LA,Local Stories, December 14, 2020
Publications as Author
“Becoming The Art”, Writing and Editing, Art Walk Magazine Blog
“The Damian Snow Files,” Khroma Art Mag, Feb 2017 p.13-16
Related Professional Experience
2022-Present - Mind Escape
curator
2022- Present- Stylist Assistant, Fox Sports