Joya: AiR / Katie Lawson / Canada

‘The days at Joya unfold organically and I am gently guided by

the sun and the wind; I follow a quiet curiosity prompted by the sierras and

the barrancos. As I lean in and surrender myself to this rhythm,

I catch a glimpse of a mere moment in geologic time — acknowledging and

accepting that the space I occupy is governed by the vast natural cycles of

the alpine desert, but also by the complications of land use, ownership,

abandonment and agricultural practice.

I came to Los Gázquez (home of Joya:) keen to explore embodiment through landscape

as something continually produced through peripatetic and optical experiences,

but also through historical, social, material, linguistic, cultural and geopolitical

conditions. In the time that I have spent walking the land and sharing dynamic

conversation with my warm hosts and fellow residents, I felt compelled to write

a series of poems. I hope that this collection, which naturally clustered into

corresponding times of the day, will act as seeds to be sown at a later date —

an alternative form of research. The process of creative writing has become for

me a curatorial methodology that I cherish equally if not more than the more

traditional forms of investigation which may subsequently accompany it’.

Katie Lawson

Katie Lawson is currently completing her Master of Visual Studies in Curation at the University of Toronto, having previously completed an MA in Contemporary Art and BFA in Studio Art.