Meme creator and artist Jessica Dahlgren finds beauty in the mundane.
Dahlgren is based in Anchorage, but began her account, Numero Uno Aries, when she was living in Los Angeles in 2018.
“I definitely got into astrology from living in LA,” she said. “It’s actually hilarious. I moved to LA and started making friends and the first thing people started asking me were “What is your sign? What are your big three?’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean? I don’t know what that is.’”
Dahlgren was the friend that was always making memes for her group chats, she says, and after reassurance from a friend, finally made an Instagram account to showcase her content. It took off in a way, she says
“It was usually astrology-based,” Dahlgren said. “I make more memes that are not necessarily astrology-based, but it started off that way. Numero Uno Aries, sometimes I regret the name because I think it is a very Aries-thing of me to have picked it. It was the first name I thought of, and the name is Aries is the first in the zodiac sign, and kind of cheeky, like ‘Aries is number one.’”
Since creating the page, Dahlgren has amassed over 53,000 followers on her account, and has had several memes make the rounds on the internet.
“I do remember I made a meme of Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks as each sign … and [Kyle MacLachlan] reshared it to his grid, and back then he was resharing a lot of artists, any fan art,” Dahlgren said. “He credited me in the comments with the painter’s emoji, and I screamed because he is baby girl and he will always be baby girl.”
For many, Dahlgren understands that it may seem incredibly silly, but that’s the point.
“People have the argument of, ‘Are memes art?’” Dahlgren said. “And I think it is a cool idea, and I do think personally that memes are art, or there is an art to memes — in the sense of art history, you can depict what was going on in the culture. And, anyone can do it. It is so accessible to make a meme.”
“I love Numero Uno Aries, and it has been something that I have loved creating,” Dahlgren added. “Now that it’s been so long, I do want to make more things but I go through phases … I don’t know if I’ll make more things, but I might.”
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
