My practice involves exploring conditions of limbo, with a focus on death, time and ephemerality. Often my research leads me towards momentary and organic material, and aims to propose new systems and methods for engagement. Most recently this has taken form through building digital interfaces, tools and instruments used to explore, amplify and reflect the barely visible, tangible or audible, while expressing the resonance and relationship between people, plants, and organic matter. A major trajectory point in my work has been researching the phenomena of cultural iatrogenesis, which refers to the destruction of traditional methods of dealing with and making sense of death, suffering, and illness. In this way, the medicalization of life leads to cultural harm as society members lose their autonomous coping skills. This research led to an ongoing body of work; iatrorgenerism and a continued interest in finding ways to confront and cope with these topics.
In 2017, I received an MFA from AKV St. Joost (The Netherlands) in conjunction with courses in the Transdisciplinary New Media program at the Paris College of Art (France). I have participated in residencies across Canada and Europe; most notably at the Banff Centre, at House for an Art Lover during Glasgow International in Scotland,  and most recently at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory in Winnipeg, developing an album of the sounds of the plants before they are cut down. I have given lectures in France, the United Kingdom, Colombia and Canada and was recently selected by v2_for their Graduation Edition, was nominated for the Blooom Award and as a finalist for the Salt Spring National Art Prize. 

Helga Jakobson
helgajakobson@gmail.com






Curriculum Vitae



Education
2016-2017 M.F.A., AKV St Joost (’s-Hertogenbosch/Breda, the Netherlands)
2015-2016 M.F.A. (Transdisciplinary New Media), Paris College of Art (Paris, France)
2013 B.F.A. Hon, University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada)


Awards/Recognitions/Grants
2017 Visual Arts B Grant, Manitoba Arts Council (Winnipeg, Canada)
2017 Nominated, Blooom Award (Düsseldorf, Germany)
2017 Finalist, Salt Spring National Art Prize (Salt Spring Island, Canada)
2016-2017 Avans Scholarship Programme for Best-Performing Non-EEA Students, AKV|ST Joost (’s-Hertogenbosch/Breda, the Netherlands)
2017 Selected for the Test_Lab: the Graduation Edition 2017, V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media (Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
2013 Community Achievement Award, National Finalist  (Winnipeg, Canada)
2010-2013 Dean’s Honour Roll, School of Art  (Winnipeg, Canada)


Residencies/Masterclasses
2018 Artist in Residence, The Assiniboine Park Conservatory (Winnipeg, Canada)
2018 Tallest Poppy Residency (Winnipeg, Canada)(upcoming)
2018 Digital Sound & Art, Château Éphémère (Carrières-sous-Poissy, France)(upcoming)
2018 Self Directed, Witte Rook (Breda, the Netherlands)(upcoming)
2017 Speculative Biology masterclass, Sonic Acts (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
2016 Herland, Wolfart ProjectSpace, (Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
2015 Artist in Residence, The Tallest Poppy, (Winnipeg, Canada)
2014 Artist in Residence, The Edge Gallery (Winnipeg, Canada)
2014 Biophillia, Ayatana (Wolfville, Nova Scotia)
2013 Toxicity Workshop, VideoPool (Winnipeg, Canada)
2013 Another World In The Studio, Banff Residency (Banff, Canada)


Group Exhibitions
2018 A Lingering Darkness, Cluster: New Music and Integrated Arts Festival (Winnipeg, Canada)
2017 Carte Blanche, aceartinc. (Winnipeg, Canada)
2017 Since Then, Kamloops Art Gallery (Kamloops, British Columbia)
2017 Highlights from WKNDX, Witte Rook (Breda, The Netherlands)
2017 No Material Difference, MFA AKV|St Joost Graduation Exhibition, Club Solo (Breda, the Netherlands)
2017 Never Settled, Willem Twee ('s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands)
2017 Nothing Lasts, Electron (Breda, the Netherlands)
2016 The Only Rule is Work, House for an Art Lover (Glasgow, Scotland)
2016 Onderbroken Stad, Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts (Antwerp, Belgium)
2016 Low Tech Lab London, Educational Room, Saatchi Gallery (London, England)
2015 Identite Reve(l)ee, mi* galerie (Paris, France)
2015 Swarms of Secrets, Flocks of Lies, UCC Art Gallery (Roseburg, Oregon, USA)
2014 The Edge Galary Gala, The Edge Gallery (Winnipeg, Canada)
2014 Little Deaths, MAWA Mentorship Showcase (Winnipeg, Canada)
2013 BFA Grad Show, Artlab (Winnipeg, Canada)
2012-2013 Unravelled, Gallery In the Park and Gallery OneOneOne (Altona and Winnipeg, Canada)
2010 Samsara, The Edge Gallery (Winnipeg, Canada)
2010 Phantasmagoria, Dalnavert Museum (Winnipeg, Canada)


Solo Exhibitions
2018 Sympoietic Sound, aceartinc.  (Winnipeg, Canada)(upcoming)
2016 Sigillium Runica, Window through Nuna/Now and Synonym Art Consultation, (Winnipeg, Canada)
2016 Sigillium Runica, Electron Breda WKNDX, (Breda, the Netherlands)
2014 featured artist, Tiny Gallery, MAWA, (Winnipeg, Canada)
2015 AiR Gala, the Edge Gallery (Winnipeg, Canada)
2014 Graphological Tasseomancy, C Space (Winnipeg, Canada)


Performances/Talks/Lectures/Workshops
2018 The Art of Living on a Damaged Planet, Theory and Beer, MAWA (Winnipeg, Canada)(upcoming)
2017 Processing Beat Bounce, Studio 393 (Winnipeg, Canada)
2017 Arduino and Arachne’s Sonifier, Isolated Landscapes: The Gathering, Video Pool Media Arts Centre (Winnipeg, Canada)
2017 Weaving Webs: The Myth of Arachne, Digital Feminism, and Techno-crafting, Isolated Landscapes: The Gathering, Video Pool Media Arts Centre (Winnipeg, Canada)
2017 Sound Generator, De Fabriek (Eindhoven, the Netherlands)
2017 Tetra Gamma Circulaire, de Player (Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
2017 Shared Boundaries, Synthetic Ecologies, ONCA (Brighton, England)
2017 The Quest for Infinite Justice, AKV St Joost ('s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands)
2016 Capturing Transience and the Ecstatic Problem of Ephemerality, AKV St Joost ('s- Hertogenbosch, Netherlands)
2015 Demystifying Technology, Barcu Art Fair, (Bogata, Columbia)
2015 Epidemiological Binding, The Tallest Poppy Residency, (Winnipeg, Canada)
2015 Panelist, Art & Astronomy: Instersections & Oppositions, aceartinc. (Winnipeg, Canada)
2014 Artist Talk, VideoPool (Winnipeg, Canada)
2014 fortuna’s bar: nine, the Edge Gallery (Winnipeg, Canada)
2014 During Biophillia , Ayatana Residency (Wolfville, Nova Scotia)
2013 During Another World In The Studio, Banff Residency (Banff, Canada)
 
Professional Experience
2018 Guest Lecturer, AKV St Joost (’s-Hertogenbosch/Breda, the Netherlands)(upcoming)
2017 Art Facilitator, Studio 393 (Winnipeg, Canada)
2015-2016 Sculpture Technician’s assistant, Paris College of Art (Paris, France)
2015 Co-curator, Dry Media, the Edge Gallery (Winnipeg, Canada)
2014-2015 Director, BioArt Chapter, Open Lab, VideoPool (Winnipeg, Canada)
2013-2014 Mentee, MAWA Foundation Mentorship Program (Winnipeg, Canada)
2013-2015 President, aceartinc. (Winnipeg, Canada)
2013 Contract employee, VideoPool (Winnipeg, Canada)
2012- 2013 Vice President, aceartinc. (Winnipeg, Canada)
2012 Guest Artist, Art City (Winnipeg, Canada)
2011 Art Facilitator, Winnipeg Art Gallery Studio (Winnipeg, Canada)
2010-2012 Board of Directors, aceartinc. (Winnipeg, Canada)
2010 Co-curator, Projected Intimacy, Gallery OneOneOne (Winnipeg, Canada)
2010-2012 Co-President, School of Fine Art Students’ Association for the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada)