Joya: AiR / Kit Ondaatje Rolls / ENG
photo Simon Beckmann
Joya: AiR / Kit Ondaatje Rolls / ENG
‘Before I came I was so excited to have a month dedicated solely to creating, but my experience was so much richer than just that. The environment was profoundly nurturing. By this I mean the land, the people, Joya: AiR as a home, the food, the space, the freedom, Frida and Fou Fou, and the beds(!!)... I saw many artists come and go, and it was a pleasure to observe just how much impact every single artist had on the group dynamic. The cross-pollination of ideas, thoughts, references, and sometimes wonderful nonsense was fantastic and much needed :)
The month was ‘productive’ but not in the way I was expecting. As proposed, I danced, sung, hiked, climbed, and created peculiar creatures. Surprisingly, I only had two days of ‘existential bleugh’ where I questioned my artistic capabilities and concluded that I best resign forever. Until the evening’s festivities begin again and perspective is gained, quite literally — how can you not be humbled when watching a full moon rise over the magnificent south-easterly mountain in wonderful company. What a month. What a residency. Thank you’!!
Kit Ondaatje Rolls is an interdisciplinary creative, working at the intersection of ecology, the performative arts and culture. Ondaatje Rolls graduated with a BA in Environmental Sociology & Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh in 2019 and received her MA in Biodesign from Central Saint Martins last July. During the Master’s, her project ‘Blimey!’ won the MA Biodesign, Maison/0, LVMH Collaboration 'One Nature, One Future' and was exhibited at the IUCN Congress 2021 in Marseille, France. She was recently selected to curate the creative segment of SHE Changes Climate’s inaugural event at COP26, championing artists who celebrate the feminine, the diverse, the resilient, and the collaborative. Ondaatje Rolls was a COP26 panelist, speaking alongside CONFENIAE representative Verónica Inmunda and 70s rockstar Brian Eno and is working on her second book that she intends to take to COP27.