Super Dakota

Jeanne Jacob’s practice alternates and merges different media, including painting, performance, text, and drawing. Her work pulls from feminist queer theory and contemporary sociology to explore ideas of intimacy—both personal and relational. Her canvases have been described as “oil fables” (1), where personal stories, proverbs, literature, and art history unfold. The scenes and characters she portrays seem to be in constant movement, embodying the ever-changing ideals that shape our reality and relationships. Emotions and connections serve as a driving force, fuelling her exploration of identity and selfhood.

The exhibition’s title Alors on étend les racines reflects Jacob’s narrative approach. The use of alors on creates a conversational tone, emphasizing a collective experience. It suggests reaching deeper for nourishment—not just from visible, surface-level interactions but by tapping into connections that go beyond the surface. The reference to 'roots' also emphasizes the inclusion of one painting whose production spanned over 10 years, serving as a mean to address transformation from within.

We could compare Jacob’s paintings to the ones of lesbian painters of our time such as Nicole Eisenman or Amy Sillman, not in the form but in its subjectivity. Following the reasoning of William J. Simmons in Queer Formalism: The Return (2), where the author attempts to define what Queer Formalism is—or rather, what it is not—he observes that "queer formalism" is not a rigid artistic style or movement with clear boundaries. Instead, it is a fluid and multifaceted approach that embraces contradictions and complexity. It emerges from the lived experiences of non-normative bodies—those that do not fit into conventional societal norms. These bodies develop a way of seeing and creating that combines love, skepticism, activism, and a playful freedom. In essence, queer formalism is an open, evolving process of making connections and expressing identity, one that is informed by a need to navigate, survive, and challenge the norms that society imposes.

Jeanne Jacob builds her paintings in layers, letting her intuition navigate visual language codes without a fixed starting or endpoint in the composition. She uses oil paint, spray, graphite, and canvas collages to create varying textures, depths, transparencies and contrast. Her painting style alternate between intricate and playful. The titles serve as guides, hinting at stories and feelings behind each piece. For instance, First Chapters (2013-2024) depicts two idealized figures so intimately close that they almost merge, inspired by the unbreakable bond Jacob shares with her twin sister. The painting reflects the idea that the way we learn to love and care for each other is intrinsically connected to the love we receive as children. Drawing from this inevitable connection, Jacob portrays this couple by a pond under a darkened sky, their childlike forms embodying a sense of ease. This painting, started in 2013, marks a return to the artist’s origins—both in life and in painting.

Inspired by Octavia Butler'snovel Parable of the Sower: “All that you touch, You Change. All that you Change, Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change”, Il y a des canards qui coiquents (2023), reflects on the fluidity of identity and the inevitable transformations we experience. Smiley sunflowers, skulled ants, human bodies, anthropomorphic clouds, ducks, and plants live in a perfect synergy without any hierarchy. Throughout this large-scale format, Jacob invites the viewer to immerse in the scene and explore the delicate balance between permanence and impermanence, the self and the collective, emphasized by a porous relationship between beings that affect one another.

Ambiguity weaves through Jacob’s works. Contradictory emotions coexist, creating a space where diverse sentiments intertwine. In À l’intérieur, tout les jours carnaval (2024), Jacob contrasts an external celebration, where winter’s monsters are driven away, with an internal carnival of personal demons. The piece questions when we are most authentic—when stripped of societal masks and struggles. It explores mental health and identity, asking who we are without the challenges that shape us. The internal carnival becomes a constant dance of self-confrontation.

Jeanne Jacob’s work presents a multifaceted exploration of identity, intimacy, and transformation. Through her layered compositions, she explores the ambiguous nature of human connections, continuously defying conventional storytelling and static societal norms. By examining the complexity of emotions, she constructs a space where ambiguity becomes a tool for introspection, and painting serves as a means to navigate the constantly shifting terrain of identity and existence.

(1) Valentina d’Avena, Palais de Tokyo

(2) Floating Opera Press