Joya: AiR / Molly Astley / GBR

“Alongside my intention to listen to the land - to absorb all the sense impressions and communications of the precious ecosystem JOYA rests in - was the worrisome possibility that there would be no depth of dialogue between me and the environment: that I would be rejected as a stranger, my London mind too frenzied to be permeated by anything other-than-human.
On day two of my residency I woke to sharp October sunshine. I watched an olive tree from the window, whose branches bustled in the wind, & noticing the change in light I hoped my presence had been quietly accepted.

What are we prepared to reveal to one another?

The next morning, the sound of a bird calling from atop the studio chimney invited me outside into the freshness of the morning, to capture the sun spilling light through the valley.
The plants were tender with dew, and the swift air wrapped around my body as I turned the corner of the house to the face the expansive view. JOYA is a 360-degree experience. I felt encircled by the park, something to witness in every direction, and no doubt many things witnessing me. There are relics left by artists who have gone before me, and these spoke too.

Such were the shining moments when other presences whisked me out of introspection and into relation, the praying mantis who crept into my studio, the goat bleating at sunset, & not least the ever endearing Frida, whose bark resonates deep in the bones!
What struck me at Joya: AiR was how skilfully and playfully we can communicate across languages and cultures: how we manage to share laughter, stories and symbols. I also felt grief for loss of languages we are living through – those creatures and cultures that no longer speak. And the ephemerality of that. The smoke rushing from the chimney, swept sideways by the wind.

A visit to the nearby 'Cueva de Los Letreros' left me pining for the romantic idea of a time in which folklore, magic and ritual were intrinsic to our understanding of place, and our relationship with animals and the cosmos. I was inspired by the narrative space made for mystery, which felt like a remedy to our techno-info-hungry society. My mono printing turned to red earth tones and crude marks. Time allowed me to be process led, uncomfortable at first, giving me the chance to explore new water-based techniques.

2 weeks offered space for reflection on my direction as an artist / writer working in the time of climate crisis, a moment to become re-enchanted with the biodiversity we strive to protect, and to contemplate the acts of communication I play a part in receiving, interpreting, and transmuting. How can I be a node of connection in an ecosystem, rather than observer?

Thank you for your generosity in opening up your beautiful family home to support art residencies: an inspirational model of creative, carbon-neutral living, in a setting that is totally alive”.

Molly Astley

Molly Astley is an artist and writer, with a BA in English Literature, currently studying the Life/Art Process, Anna Halprin's Expressive Arts Programme.
Her work questions the human / nature separation and explores the relationship between personal and ecological health. Automatic drawing, embodied awareness, observations of sensation and perception are core to her process.

Simon Beckmann27 January 2020