Yuckyboy Studio is the multimedia practice of interdisciplinary artist Kelsey Jacobson. They spent two years in the fine arts diploma program at Langara College, (2013) and are part of their permanent collection. They have participated in Vancouver’s Culture Crawl, (2015, 2016, 2018,) and been part of Seattle Erotic Art Fest, SFU Woodwards Mars Station, and Subculture Art Show. Café Deux Soleils hosted their first solo show, Big Time Red, (2015.)
In the way that teenagers curate their bedrooms and create a cultural womb to cultivate comfort and expression, Yuckyboy Studio patinates spaces with bright, dynamic pieces that explore the contemporary identify. They manipulate exhibition spaces to create immersive environments that celebrate diversity and queerness. The tagline of their website – fine art / design / wtf – sets a tone prevalent through their work; we can explore spectrums of identity, with respect to their validity, and entertain tongue-in-cheek humour about the absurdity of culture, bodies, sexuality, and creation.
Their material-centred practice uses mediums such as, encaustic painting with pigmented beeswax and resin, acrylic painting, hard/soft sculpture, and textile. They combine mediums to blur the lines between what is textile and soft sculpture. The spectrum of their soft discipline ranges from functional fetish hoods, (like Swine and Cozy Sissy,) to the Posse series, abstract wall hangings that explore colour, manipulation of living space, and the body. Their encaustic paintings offer a physical dynamacy that lifts from the canvas while their household work includes shelves that pop from the wall with colour, texture, acrylic moulds, found objects, and secret compartments. Their pieces are bright, fun, and eye-catching, while challenging accepted cultural norms.
They’re most influenced by other young, queer artists making a place for themselves and Jacobsen is part of this movement: creatives making their own dreams come true with whatever they are and having fun while doing it.