For the better part of 20 years, Spring Break Jake’s existence as a human being has been profoundly shaped by insomnia & sleep deprivation. NIGHT LIFE probes the dynamic between slumber and mental health, articulating how sleep, or the lack thereof, shapes our lens of the world around us and in us. Jake’s mixed media paintings take a bird’s eye view of the halcyon atmosphere in a deathly still bedroom while conveying the opposing reality happening in one’s restless mind; the outer world still, the inner world in turmoil.

Spring Break Jake (b. 1989), legally known as Jacob Jerome Kenobi, is a self-taught painter & mixed media artist born & raised in Minneapolis, MN, currently based in Bend, OR. Using the inevitability of death as motivation to explore the inner oceans of mental health, Jake creates darkly tropical work that focuses on vulnerability, illuminating the unseen parts of ourselves and an acceptance of both the good & the bad, the light & the dark. Through the repeated symbolism of death on holiday, Jake’s art ultimately recognizes that while no one gets out of this life alive, we can all find paradise along the way. Jake’s work has been shown throughout the West Coast including solo shows in Bend, Portland, & Encinitas, and juried art fairs in LA, San Francisco, Seattle, & Reno. He was selected as one of the first Artists-in-Residence with Scalehouse Arts in Bend and has participated in speaking engagements such as a panel discussion on the impact of art on health & well-being at the Reno Tahoe International Art Show. Jake’s work has also been featured internationally in print publications such as Vanity Fair UK, British GQ, House & Garden, and Create! Magazine.

https://springbreakjake.com/

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