Levi Jacobs
Levi Jacobs (Amsterdam, 1993) makes fine art, usually presented in the form of an installation with the (/his) body as a source of inspiration. He doesn’t limit himself to one field, but works with a broad range of materials. Examples are: ceramics, drawing, painting, plastics, (photo/video) projection, wood, chocolate and more. This combined into an installation, making it possible to walk around or stand within, to emphasize the different points of view one can have on the subject of the artwork.
A frequent theme in Jacobs’ work is sexuality and gender. For his whole life Jacobs has been researching these subjects, and he uses his art as an expression of his findings. He is continuously looking and searching for his own position within the contemporary gay culture in Amsterdam, as a young, transgender gay man.
︎︎︎ Levi’s website
A frequent theme in Jacobs’ work is sexuality and gender. For his whole life Jacobs has been researching these subjects, and he uses his art as an expression of his findings. He is continuously looking and searching for his own position within the contemporary gay culture in Amsterdam, as a young, transgender gay man.
︎︎︎ Levi’s website
‘’SAAC gives me a space where I don’t have to ‘hold back’ when we discuss things in early life that have shaped us. It gives me recognition, even though our experiences differ. We don’t even need to talk about what exactly has happened in our youths, sharing our current state of mind offers me some peace in the search for where I am now in dealing with the past.‘’
De vuile was // The dirty laundry
“Je moet niet de vuile was buiten hangen” (“you should not hang your dirty laundry outside”) is a Dutch proverb meaning ‘You shouldn’t talk about unpleasant things with outsiders’.
This describes exactly the mindset most people in society have about trauma. Especially sexual trauma in youth. Don’t burden others with your experience. It’s so far in the past, stop thinking about it. This is too much for people to handle, stop telling them this. You’re making them sad.
When we start talking about these things, we will notice how many people share our experiences. Yes, this hurts. But it also gives a sense of community, of recognition, of comradery, a sense of not being alone.
For this project I explored how my traumatic experience 20 years ago planted a seed in my mind, and how this grew out into a plant with many branches. Each branch ends in certain behaviors in my contemporary life. Self destructive behavior. Addictive behavior. Codependent behavior. And so on. Combined with some images from my memory of when the trauma happened. What I was wearing, where he touched me, et cetera.
This describes exactly the mindset most people in society have about trauma. Especially sexual trauma in youth. Don’t burden others with your experience. It’s so far in the past, stop thinking about it. This is too much for people to handle, stop telling them this. You’re making them sad.
When we start talking about these things, we will notice how many people share our experiences. Yes, this hurts. But it also gives a sense of community, of recognition, of comradery, a sense of not being alone.
For this project I explored how my traumatic experience 20 years ago planted a seed in my mind, and how this grew out into a plant with many branches. Each branch ends in certain behaviors in my contemporary life. Self destructive behavior. Addictive behavior. Codependent behavior. And so on. Combined with some images from my memory of when the trauma happened. What I was wearing, where he touched me, et cetera.