Joya: AiR / Amy Corcoran / UK

‘I arrived at Joya: AiR with a number of half-formed ideas but very much open to discovery and new directions. I drew inspiration from the incredible scenery Joya is nestled within. Despite a number of uncharacteristically cold and cloudy days at the start of my residency, I found myself compelled to explore this wild landscape, which is so different to home: golden birdsong and bright clay, seas of conifers and rainbows of stone, the delicate aroma of newly unfurled almond blossom, and the twinkle of snow-capped mountains in the distance. Everywhere the signs of spring arriving, made more glorious by the sun's own arrival in my second week.

Days spent exploring - down into the barrancos and up the mountainsides - were both soothing and invigorating. What emerged was a desire to capture something of the essence of this unique place and my experience of it. I returned to my creative 'first loves' to do so - text, pencil, paint - which felt wonderful. Additionally, I recorded sound, took photographs, and experimented with pinhole cameras and non-toxic developing processes. I also played with other image making techniques, including cyanotypes, and with turning the studio into a camera obscura.

I am so grateful to Donna and Simon for the welcome and care they provided, for the wonderful dinners with nourishing food and great conversation, and for the opportunity to have both time and space to explore, experiment and create. It was a real privilege and joy to spend two weeks at Joya, and I have no doubt the residency will have a profound impact on my practice for a long time to come. 

Also, big shout out to the animals, especially Nippy’.

Amy Corcoran

Amy Corcoran is an artist, writer and researcher whose practice oscillates around human rights and ecology, and incorporates film, photography, sound and installation. Amy employs these mediums to produce intimate spaces for reflection and embodied sensory experiences. This forms a more fundamental exploration into catalysing other modes of knowing through creative practices. In the contemporary climate, she understands art to hold power when it opens up empathetic spaces, including those that move beyond the human.

www.amycorcoran.xyz