Jacob is an artist working across mediums to explore communication modes through the lens of hypnosis and object making. He received his MFA from The University of Chicago.
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Before we look - we prepare ourselves for what we see. We live in an assumptive world - a mirror that shows us only what we decide to reflect. I am a maker who uses my studio practice to experiment with expectation. I want to create work that festers in the moment before discovery. Work that continually asks questions about the baggage we bring to them.
As an artist I have a constant fascination with communication. That any symbol can contain any idea to every person, that perception is plastic, that together, in each moment, we decide the rules. These elements of how we communicate daily are generative for my artmaking.
Recently my practice has centered around researching and experimenting with shifted communication vocabularies and their effect on sense of self. As I delve into these themes, I’ve discovered facets of communication that shift the paradigm of ‘language’ in a vastly different way. These new paradigms are found in unexpected places. They come up in the worlds of hypnosis and power exchange, as well as in practices of meditation, mindfulness, and prayer. As an artist and communicator, I play in the moment of trance. With my work I aim to create a space where the viewer’s perception and awareness shifts, where you are transported into a vastly different assumptive world.