Sincerity and Symbiosis is considered act 2 in the context of a large ongoing project titled Forewarning instigated by Jacobus in 2018. Accumulatively the project operates as a series of reconciliations and farewells unfolding within specific environments that have become inherently fragile through time and human undoing, and consequently have both a real and imbued hostility. Manifesting as a multichannel video installation act 2 documents parts of a 6-week durational performance undertaken within an undisclosed plantation forest in Shiga prefecture, Japan in early 2019. The ritualised engagement that unfolds in the videos exudes a reflective yet redemptive tone, foregrounding both the rift and intertwinement between human and nature. Embracing the threshold separating sacred and profane space there is an earnestness driving the pursuit. A holistic approach to navigating an uncertain ecology, one enshrined with loss yet futilely offering a sense of hope. The forest in which the performance takes place is positioned as the central protagonist in the work, and instilled with a sense of religiosity, a sacredness to which the human body seeks forgiveness. However there is pathos to the engagement that follows, and the environment in which it does. The forest is not natural, but yet the result of deforestation. There is barely any life supported in this reconstituted ecosystem. Despite this, the figure within the work sets out to honour every single tree in the forest, referencing the human desire to seek harmony with ones natural surroundings. An outstretched hand, reaching out but falling short of direct touch embraces the symbolic and sacred nature of each. The space between hand and tree denoting a poignant futility. A fractured symbiosis. Treading lightly and barefoot the ritual was performed on a daily basis during winter. The landscape slowly leaving its mark on the body through time, scratching and splitting open skin, constantly inflicting and exposing wounds.

This project has been supported by Fremantle Arts Centre, through the Artist In Residence program.

Born and based in Perth, Western Australia, Jacobus maintains a practice that incorporates performance, photography, video installation, painting and site-specific work. Characteristically evocative his work frequently combines physically demanding durational performances with majestic, sublime landscapes. In 2007, he traversed Australia by foot, in order to pour water from the Indian Ocean into the Pacific. His work has been shown in a range of prestigious solo and group exhibitions, including The Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, which housed his solo exhibition, Forgiving Night for Day as part of the 2017 Perth International Arts Festival. He was included in Primavera 2017 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, ACCA’s New16, and as a finalist of the 2017 Ramsay Art Prize and has participated in numerous international festivals, fellowships, and residencies and is the recipient of the 2016 John Stringer Prize. He received a Bachelor of Fine Art from Edith Cowan University in 2007.