Jon Jacobsen

Words by Oliver Monaghan

There’s a lot to be said for raw talent. The innate ability to make and do things that others can only aspire to, or spend years being taught how to do by professionals. In my native England, along with the vast majority of European states, there is such a heavy focus on training. An institutionalized and quite often a ‘one size fits all’ approach to arts education, that not only leaves it’s burgeoning young creatives in heavy debt before pushing them out into ever increasingly unstable fields but is not always strictly necessary. And while, yes, these internationally renowned schools do produce some of the art world’s more impressive heavy hitters, there are a plethora of overlooked, self-taught gems to be discovered across the world. A prime example of this is the incredible Jon Jacobsen.

Born and raised in Quintero, Chile, Jacobsen began his foray into the arts at an early age. Starting his experimentation with body and form through the creation of conceptual photographic self-portraits and imagery at the age of 15. Since then, Jon’s artistic practice has expanded to incorporate a multitude of digital formats from Gif & video works to illustration and photo-manipulation. Constantly continuing to educate himself and test new media as a means of furthering his craft and enriching his visual language.

His unwavering dedication to his craft has not gone unnoticed. His work has been featured globally in some of the world’s most revered publications, from Harper’s Bazaar to Dazed and I-D. Along with having his pieces displayed at internationally renowned venues such as London’s Somerset House, Pulse Art Fair in Miami and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Santiago, Chile. As well as being shortlisted in the Saatchi Gallery’s ‘Motion Photography’ contest and having his project ‘Insula’ place as one of the ten worldwide finalists of the SHOWstudio Fashion Film Festival.

His work contains an almost limitless quality while being rife with enthralling self-contradictions. They are beautiful, yet grotesque. Self-contained yet expansive, as the forms of his subjects erupt out of themselves. Bleeding into bizarre new worlds, as the boy who once dreamt of being an astronaut becomes a man creating new universes. Capturing the eeriness of an almost spectral dimension that teeters on the cusp of reality. His works are bold, organic in essence and utterly bewitching. And are a true testament to his innate ability as a craftsman. jon-jacobsen.com