nicholas b jacobsen, Real White (installation), 2020, concrete, basalt, sandstone, cinder block, wood, gypsum, fake white poppies, white stripe of a 100% cotton U.S. flag; Wonder bread (classic white), pure driven snow, decorative cotton blossoms. 100% silk thread, pure white sugar, 100% natural
table salt, Comet with bleach, bleached flour, whole milk; Clorox disinfecting wipes (kills 99.99%), pure clay (porcelain), baby powder (pure cornstarch), white wine, 100% white cotton panties, photos of the sculptures Norman and Norma, alabaster busts of Apollo Belvedere and Venus de Milo, apple with bite, fake rib bone, white Rock Dove (pigeon) feathers, doily, handkerchiefs, photo of the Prophet, 1st and 2nd counselors, and 12 apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in their temple in Rome, Italy, stars cut from a U.S. flag, small U.S. flag dipped in ultra pure white paint; dimensions variable
nicholas b jacobsen
nicholas b jacobsen is a seventh-generation Utah-Mormon, a non-binary, European, U.S. American raised in the traditional homelands of the Nuwu, where the Great Basin, Mojave desert, and Colorado Plateau meet and become one another. They use self-critique in an effort to understand Whiteness, hetero-patriarchy, and human exceptionalism. By altering objects and imagery from their U.S., Mormon, and desert upbringing they highlight the parts of these histories and mythistries that are often left out of the stories of Christian & U.S. American innocence and supremacy.
They received an MFA in Art & Ecology from the University of New Mexico in 2020 and a BFA in ceramics/sculpture from Southern Utah University. jacobsen has received multiple awards including: scholarships and fellowships at UNM, Omaha Arts and Entertainment’s “Best Emerging Artist” and “Best New Media Artist,” has been recognized as one of Omaha’s “Five Artists to Watch,” and worked as an assistant to ceramic sculpture, Jun Kaneko. Their works have been exhibited and collected throughout the U.S. They’ve been published in Things Organized Neatly, The Alibi, and the Omaha World Herald, and have an upcoming publication in collaboration with Nina Elder. Hear more about nicholas on the Aerogramme podcast “A Guide to Art, Activism, and Culture.”