"Much of my work explores my emotional relationship with my memory -the way in which memory can affect us and the story we created by projecting the belief or desire. My work focuses on performances and mixes it with videos and photography. I enjoy using bricolage and involves overlapping video or visual images to rebuild them in order to convey my idea which stems from my memory and make something meaningful.

I intend to look for an open and wide place where I can continue my meditation Performance: sleeping piece which first performed in the UK in an indoor environment. During the stay in JOYA: AiR, I explored the forest here and sleep with a pillow on the land with the pine tree, every day two hours for about one week. I try to use my body interact with nature by the way of photography and performance. The landscape here quite similar with the work of Anselm Kiefer which also inspire me and I also took lots of photos and sketchbooks. 

Besides, Simon and his family are really hospitable，the food there is quite delicious.I will never forget Joya which give me the lovely memory and opportunity to do the art I really want to do, their professional technical support for my work as well".

Yiwen Wang

"Waking up in the morning to light streaming through the window, the sound of buzzing bee’s, and the smell of the raw nature all around you is awe inspiring. My time here was intense, productive but also restful. The only distractions are the ones that you create. I was able to accomplish a great deal during my time at Joya AiR. 

Los Gázquez is dreamy space filled with light, unique collections of ephemera, art, textiles and ceramics and most of all collection wonderful artists. Our hosts Donna and Simon are helpful, generous and inspiring. I also loved their collection of fuzzy friends Fufu the goat, Max the dog and the 7 cats that I forced into being my friends. They have created a magical space for artists to come and focus on their work. 

My time here was spent cooking and writing for a cookbook project that I have been working on for a couple of years now. I found myself many eager taste testers and kitchen that inspired many new recipes. I managed to complete and almost print a rough draft of the book. I am deeply grateful for the time that I spent here and leave with a feeling of accomplishment. I hope to return again soon".

www.petittakett.com

“I came to Joya: AiR, to write and paint and specifically to see if I could bring a fluidity to both disciplines.

In the case of my landscape paintings, to leave behind the physicality of my surroundings and instill a sense of deconstruction in my work. To develop a series of paintings, made with bold gestural strokes , influenced with colour drawn largely from a sense of emotion than pictorial reality.

The landscape of Andalusia and the Sierra María, is both seductive and challenging and forced me to look and look again. The studio at the art residency was like a magnet that drew me back, once I had completed plein air sketches and working roughs. A perfect environment to work large or small, rethink and re-assess and to rub shoulders with other like-minded creatives. I produced an enormous body of work in my time here and opened up my thinking. But more importantly, I felt a huge sense of achievement.

Early mornings were spent sat outside, waiting for the dawn. A perfect time to think about the fourth draft of my fictional narrative. Once again, the surroundings enabled me to think with an uncluttered mind. To meditate on my main character and focus on her journey through my story. To write with a fresh conviction.

Simon and Donna Beckmann provide an incredible escape. Leave artists free to explore and discover but are there for support when needed. Dinner together with them every evening was the final punctuation of the day. A colourful, lively discourse and always with delicious food. I will be coming back.”

MIKE STANIFORD

Artist and Writer with storytelling at the heart of both. 

Nine Quadrats @ Joya

“My residency at Joya: arte + ecología has opened my practice to routes and pathways I didn’t know existed. This was the case even from the application process, where I was successful in securing the residency through the University of the Arts London Environment International Artist Residency Programme. I was already being inspired by reading about Joya’s important mission, their approach to resource sustainability, and the artistic research that Simon Beckmann had done into the ‘ephemeral water systems’ (Sistemas Efímeros). Joya seemed the perfect setting to experiment with land and environmental art, which I researched and blogged about ahead of the trip; I wanted to somehow link this to mapping the terrain, which I also investigated prior to and during the residency.

Whilst I prepared a good deal before the residency, in reality no one can really be ready for the sights, smells and sounds of Joya. The location is set amongst contouring almond groves, surrounded by pine-clad mountains, with an ever-changing light, which changes from silvery through to deep amber-pink. Despite the beautiful studio with stunning view, I couldn’t wait to hike the nearest mountain, and ascended the nearby Sierra Larga. The summit is covered in sculptural limestone paving. Standing at the top, taking in the panoramic view, I recalled some of the land and map research I had done ahead of the visit. I decided to try and ‘capture’ the topography and biology using an interpretation of the quadrat sampling technique (see pictures).

Upon descending to the studio, surrounded by other artists creatively exploring the landscape in other ways, I constructed a second square, this time on the map. Starting with the location of the quadrat I had just constructed, I identified eight other corners or midpoints of the square. Over the next ten days I visited each of these and assembled a location-specific quadrat, made only of the resources in the location environment – stones usually, but also sticks and the bare earth. Other photos are included in this blog, and a full narration of the piece is provided here.

Without the residency at Joya, it is unlikely that I would have taken this step into an unfamiliar territory and explored making temporary, sustainable art deep in a fragile landscape. The location, the presence of a curated group of diverse and fascinating artists, the critical guidance of Simon Beckmann (and the insanely good food provided!), all enable a fertile and productive experience. This setting has allowed me to take some important steps forward in my artistic practice, and I will never forget the opportunity Joya has provided”.

“I spent my time at Joya: AiR mainly reflecting and wondering about my art practice. I came here with the intention of focusing on my research without the pressure of coming up with a finished product but by reading, organizing ideas, and thinking about the most relevant topics in my work. In this sense, the environment that Joya offers is absolutely unique and adept to my needs: the silence present in the desert landscape somehow is reflected in my own mind and allowed me to find the perfect environment to work without useless distractions.

Donna and Simon and their family are warm and very welcoming so that I’m already planning the next visit! “

Elisa Carutti

www.elisacarutti.com

“I came to Joya: AiR with the intention of using the surrounding environment to make site specific art work. I researched the landscape before getting here and had maybe 5 or 6 ideas that I planned to realise. Whilst here I managed just a couple of them successfully, and the others either I couldn’t resolve satisfactorily or decided against for various reasons.

That said, I found being in the landscape and the Joya residence, surrounded by the so many wonderful characters that populated my stay here, new ideas came easily and I was able to ask others to help me complete them. I leave here after a very productive two weeks.

It’s a bit of cliché of course that ‘people make a place’, but I feel extremely fortunate to have spent my time here with such wonderful personalities. I would like to take this opportunity to say a thank you to each of them.

Looking at this blog I’ve read time and again people expressing their fondness and gratitude to Simon and Donna, Soli and Sessi. I have to say all of the praise is deserved. They are fabulous hosts and a lovely family – an inspiration for sure!

Faye, thank you for showing me your beautiful drawings and explaining your very thoughtful project. I look forward to seeing it at the stage of presentation in the future.

Gwenda, whenever I have a boring moment I will return to thinking of your Death on Holiday project and it will certainly bring a smile to my face. You are absolutely hilarious!

Andree, thank you for the beautiful photographs you took of my performances. I have a feeling there is a very successful career ahead of you.

Dipika, your talk was fantastic and your seemingly endless enthusiasm for those things that you feel passionately about is both entertaining and inspiring.

Nele, I’m so pleased you love Techno. Those chats we had about parties were a lot of fun and transported me to a very different time in my life.

Mark, I wish you the best of luck with your future travels and all the time you put into good causes helping those that live in less fortunate circumstances. The world needs more people with your selflessness and kindness.

And finally Kyotee. Thank you for being you and for being in the same place at the same time.

Perhaps all that’s left to say is that I have had a wonderful time here and plan to come back and I’m excited about that idea. Perhaps that is the highest praise I can offer”.

Simon Linington

“I came to Joya: arte + ecología / AiR while exploring ideas about home. I found that in topography completely foreign to me, and under a night sky that was otherworldly, I felt a genuine sense of belonging and home. Although I came alone, and removed myself from what was familiar and comfortable, the rich environment that Joya had to offer brought new connections to the land, the air, myself and the wonderful people I was surrounded by. It was truly amazing to pause, listen and observe not only the ephemeral beauty of our Earth, but as humans our innate ability to capture, create and respond to our surroundings when we give ourselves the time”.

“Thank you Simon, Donna, Sesi and Soli for this experience and all the wonderful memories”.

Alice McDonald  http://www.alice-mcdonald.com

“I am a site-specific artist, writer, curator and archaeologist who combines academic enquiry with artistic philosophy. My work transects the boundaries between art and science, it is a philosophy that draws upon phenomenology as a theoretical and methodological tool and is engaged with sensory response to and perception of place and elements.  Much of my work is informed by the act of walking, cartography and topography as well as the element of water[1].  It is also concerned with the environment and the interplay between nature and culture.  I came to Joya AiR with four sketchbooks of varying size and style, charcoal, sketching pens and camera with no other expectation other than knowing that what I would create would be about these parameters of my work and, more specifically, about place”.

“What followed was a two week immersion into the landscape, daily walks, drawing and writing.  I became attuned to the topography of the land, its hill profiles and the shape of the valley of La Hoya de Carrascal.  I climbed the high points of Sierra Larga and Las Almohallas and frequently traversed the low-lying barranco, the Rambla de Cajar. Walking, according to the writer Rebecca Solnit, is how the body ‘measures itself against the earth’[2], while the anthropolost Tim Ingold suggests that landscape can enter into our ‘muscular consciousness’[3].  This form walking is what I call an embodied cartography, a method in which the body perceives and understands place. As time passed and my connections to the landscape became more nuanced, I started to shape my movements according to the sensual characteristics of the winds of the Sirocco and the Levante (also known as the Solano). In the evenings, I would tilt my sight upwards and watch the lágrimas de San Lorenzo, the Perseid  meteors  dart across the clear, star illuminated sky whilst listening to the acoustic resonance of two scops owls calling from deep within the landscape. As much as my body recalled place, so the landscape recalled my presence in it. I encountered my perfectly preserved footprints along obscure routes that I had walked in previous days. I sat on boulders that remained clear of dust and debris from when I first positioned myself there and I navigated my way by visually wayfinding the particular characteristics of hill shapes and topographic features. I walked with a goat, who showed me pathways along mountain ridges and guided me through routes out of deep crevices and dense forests.  And, as a walked, I became increasingly aware of being in an ancient landscape where others have been before me and of water and the environmental, social and cultural importance of it.  I recalled Simon showing me the ancient hydrology system that is still visible in the landscape, I spent time with an alder tree that grows where a relic water source once flourished and I repeatedly walked a complex dry fluvial system, a negative space carved into the land and shaped by the action of moving water.   Cortijada Los Gazquez (home of Joya: AiR) lies at a confluence of elements, time and space filling the night sky and shaping the contours of the land.  It has many topographical stories to tell”.

“Joya: AiR / Joya: arte + ecología, is a truly international programme.  During my residency I had the great pleasure of working alongside incredible artists from Argentina, The Netherlands, Portugal, America and the UK.  There is something rather profound in creating an environment in which people come together to work and have space to think and create. We gathered in the evening over dinner, sharing stories, talking about our work and enjoying nourishing times of collegial creative conversations.   What Simon and Donna have created, along with their twins Soli and Sesi (and during my residency the wonderful volunteer and artist Gwenda Jakobs), is a remarkable setting and a unique and immensely rewarding experience for artists”.

[1] Stevens, F. 2008. Elemental Interplay: the production, circulation and deposition of Bronze Age metalwork in Britain and Ireland. World Archaeology 40/2, 238-252.

[2] Solnit, R. 2001.  Wanderlust: A History of Walking. Verso Books

[3] Ingold, T. 2000. The Perception of the Environment. Essays on Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill. Routledge Books

Fay Stevens

http://cargocollective.com/faystevens

“I have rarely been given the opportunity to clear the decks and work on expanding aspects of my painting practice as I have found at Joya: AiR. The freedom and generosity of the hosts and co-residents, along with the magical character of time in Spain (somehow -likely the siesta- two days seem to fit inside of one) and the epic landscape surrounding Cortijada Los Gázquez creates a perfect environment for contemplation and focus. Also the bleats of encouragement from Foufou the goat….couldn’t have done it without her.”

Mathew Mann

matthewjmann.com

‘Coming to Joya, I had intended to continue nurturing the underlying desire of my artistic practice; re-establishing a connection and conversation with the natural environment.

Despite the arid and harsh environment, the natural park embracing the residency shows an outstanding generosity, through its unique beauty and the wealth of natural materials that can be found. The environment offered by Joya and the people present during those two weeks have contributed to a profound feeling of nourishment.

It has been very rich to experience the lacks and thirst of the land, the overwhelming imbalance of what is left of its ecosystems whilst feeling creatively replenished.

The land is visibly eroding and somehow crumbling into new forms, echoing the power and duty of transformation, the emergency of exploration and understanding, and inviting to a bodily experience of the hot, dry and malleable environment. The ephemeral, fragile and yet demanding and resilient nature of existence strongly embodied in the landscapes around Joya have greatly informed my experimentations during my time here. It has been a joyful pleasure and discovery to work with the clay, wood and stones found on site, dedicating time and physical effort to creating ephemeral pieces, engaging the whole body and its entire environment, bowing to the heat and winds, somehow attempting a subtle and temporary union, or at least a focused and honest acknowledgment of nature, its stories and its needs.

I leave with an incredible feeling of gratitude, enthusiasm and ideas, feeling a bit closer to understanding how art can help foster the necessary reconnection to our natural environment.

Thank you Donna and Simon Beckmann, Fred Hubble, Katie Lawson, Ciro, Camille and Aurélie’.

Taïs Bean   http://www.beantais.com

‘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.

‘Llegué a JOYA con el propósito de realizar un ajuste o sincronización con aspectos esenciales que existen en este proceso de continuo cambio que es la vida. De esto se trata el proyecto en el cual estoy trabajando llamado “Symphateia”. El foco está en la base misma, en aquello que nos sostiene, nos alimenta y nos crea: la tierra. Es una búsqueda sin búsqueda. Está ahí, en todos lados, y alcanza con ser consciente de su valor. Esta residencia me dio la oportunidad perfecta. La soledad, la belleza de sus paisajes, las maravillosas personas que acompañan, las largas caminatas, y sobre todo la posibilidad de estar todo el día en un estado creativo, sin preocupaciones ni distracciones, me ayudó con mi propósito. Symphateia etimológicamente significa “sufrir juntos”, y a diferencia de las fértiles tierras uruguayas, me encontré con una tierra sedienta, que sufre por la falta de agua. Entrar en sintonía con esto al recorrer los secos barrancos me ha llevado a sentir un profundo respeto por quienes llevan este proyecto adelante, que no descansan y no bajan los brazos en la búsqueda de soluciones para mejorar la salud de estas tierras. Por esto debo recalcar que estas firmes voluntades son lo que más me ha ayudado a poder trabajar en pos de Sympatheia. Lo que siento es un gran agradecimiento a Simon y Donna por esta oportunidad, y a quienes me acompañaron estos días: Fred, Tais, Katie, Camille y Aurelie. Aprendí mucho de cada uno de ellos, y fueron claves para que todo lo vivido me lo lleve en forma de una preciada JOYA’.

I came to JOYA with the purpose of making an adjustment or synchronisation with essential aspects that exist in this process of continuous change that is life. This is what the project is about, and in which I am working, called “Symphateia”. The focus is on the very basis, on what sustains us, nourishes us and creates us: the earth. It is a search without search. It’s there, everywhere, and it’s enough to be aware of its value. This residence gave me the perfect opportunity. The solitude, the beauty of its landscape, the wonderful people who accompany, the long walks, and especially the possibility of being all day in a creative state, without worries or distraction, helped me with my purpose. Symphateia etymologically means “suffer together”, and unlike the fertile Uruguayan lands, I found a thirsty land, suffering from the lack of water. Getting in tune with this as I walk through the dry barrancos has led me to feel a deep respect for those who carry this project forward, who do not rest and do not lower their arms in the search for solutions to improve the health of these lands. For this I must emphasise that these firm wills are what have helped me to work for Sympatheia. I am very thankful to Simon and Donna for this opportunity, and to those who accompanied me these days: Fred, Taïs, Katie, Camille and Aurelie. I learned a lot from each of them, they were a large and meaningful part of this experience which I will take away with me in the form of a precious JEWEL’.

Ciro Jaumandreu      http://www.cirojaumandreu.com

‘The first thing students from Manchester noticed is the silence. Arriving after a long journey , dropping the bags of in the rooms, they all went out, sitting on the sloping field, they just kept saying “I can’t believe how quiet it is”.

90% of this years group of students had never seen an unpolluted night sky. Alistair could not sleep, his mind was buzzing with thoughts on the size of the universe.

You learn a lot from each other on a 7 hour walk up to the fire watch station.

The students loved it. Cooking for each other, singing  and dancing was as important as scrambling up the hills and creating work.

The night we all turned into blonde Dolly Parton (15!) becoming props for Tulani’s degree show piece was unforgettable.

4 students went out to one of the abandoned houses and created wall drawings .

Lying in the sun, reading and just being with each other .

One of the best and most difficult points of Joya is, that when you are there, you are there. Students can’t escape so to speak, the nearst pub or village is too far away.

Students don’t realise until they leave, that Joya is the realisation of an artist’s vision! (better two artists) And that it is actually possible to make and live a difference. This is perhaps the most lasting experience they take away. Art is much bigger than whatever is in the white cube at any time. It’s about life, having a vision and grafting, so the vision becomes more and more real’ .

Artist and tutor Brigitte Jurack.

‘Doho Performing Arts Group are Sara Feli and Maedeh Shanehsaz. They came to Joya to develop a research based project called ‘The Roll of Affliction in Imagination’, a mythical mapping. The project is rooted in mythology and psychology, as well as the laws of physics.

The envisaged outputs for this project will be a series of performances, talks, lectures and a final article. Their residency with Joya: represents part of the research. The group felt in need of landscapes to develop the theoretical and practical parts of their project simultaneously. They came here to explore, to get to know and perform in different environments to develop the project before reaching a final outcome. The south of Spain was one of their envisaged landscapes from the inception of this idea. They came here to explore, communicate and share their work with other artists and perform a small sample’.

Doho Performing Arts Group  https://dohogroup.wordpress.com

English text abridged by Joya: AiR

‘My recent move to my home country of Macedonia has kept me so occupied with a collaborative project I was working on that didn’t allowed me the time to spend on developing ideas for a new body of work. That is when I realized I needed an artist residency to attend. Not just any artist residency, but a residency that offered a creative environment while focusing on sustainable living, a direct connection with the surrounding nature and environmental understanding. That was what Joya: arte + ecologia was all about. The location and isolation of the residency allowed time to reflect, time to create, time to engage with other artists and time to be with self.

I summarize the two weeks at the Joya residency with:  the long walks and the white wet clay stuck to the shoes, the smell of the wild rosemary bushes, the wild boar tracks and the wild goat poop reminding of their existence, the crumbly stones and rocks under the feet, the collecting and eating almonds from the surrounding almond trees, the taste of the dried back olives from the olive trees, the finger licking tasty dinners prepared by Simon and Donna and the after dinner conversations, the presentations, the moments of creating in my studio, the short daily walks of Fufu and Uuu, the night sky and billions stars, the bird singing conversations with the contrasting sound of the silence, the sound of the harmonica played on top of the surrounding hills and all that toped with mesmerizing views’.

Ankica Mitrovska   https://www.ankicamitrovska.com

‘I came here to be IN what inspires my work. Living and working in Brooklyn, NY,  I make things that connect me to what I would call the tendencies of natural places and their elements. For me, this has a lot to do with nature’s gestures and movements, a signature to all things natural that translates regardless of form.

I didn’t bring materials knowing I wanted to be impressed with the place and know myself through that impression, deciding later what form my work at Joya: AiR would take.

There had been heavy snow a week or so before I arrived, followed by warmer weather which softened the land into clay. Two experiments with clay took shape in the studio, both of them involving multiples to create larger compositions. Both of them meditative and intuitive in process. Both of them coming about organically and revealing meaning as I made them.

The experience of shaping (with only my hands and a little water) the ground I’ve lived on for two weeks has been intimate and immersive. I’ve been loaned a red bucket and a shovel. When I run out of clay I walk down the hill until my feet feel soft ground, I fill the bucket, and take it back to the studio. The seamlessness of making something in this way has allowed me a degree of focus and freedom that has blended the process into something entirely fluid. It’s quiet, there is no interference, no middleman between self and materials, no speed bump (so to speak).

The home has also been a very important element of staying and working here. Everything is beautiful and kind to the senses. The Beckmanns are welcoming, generous, warm, and utterly respectful and encouraging of their guest’s process and needs. I would describe it all as mindful luxury. Here we are mindful of water, mindful of sounds, mindful of the electricity we use, and this makes for a very present experience that is coherent with the human appreciation of nature.

I took long walks up hills and down barrancos without running into a single person and saw colours, shapes and textures that very much delivered what I was looking for in coming here.

This time at Joya has been extremely meaningful and has given me the space to clearly assert why I make art and how I want to make art. I am grateful to Simon and Donna for this opportunity which I hope to repeat in the near future’.

Melanie J Moczarski

http://www.melaniemoczarski.com/no-beating-heart

‘We were isolated on a hill yet there was no sense of loneliness. We would venture into our backyard of wilderness and return to the warmth and intimacy of our little house. I was surprised at how much I felt at home here. Being at my first artist residency, I expected a quiet, solemn retreat with most of my time spent in solitude with nature. Joya turned out to be a lively communal experience. There was no time to be alone except in sleep. It reminded me of the joys of family and community that I’ve missed, growing up in cities. We explored our surroundings like children, chased the goats, picked almonds, joked at the dinner table, gazed at stars. Even while walking “alone”, trees, bushes, mud rocks and mountains surrounded and enveloped you. With the constant company of human, animal and nature, old troubles and worries became irrelevant and dull. I came here as an abstract painter and sound artist but I’ve collected more than just images and sounds – I’ve collected new seeds of wonder and optimism for the future as both an artist and a human being’.

Wei Tan

Wei Tan is a mixed-media abstract artist and environmental sound artist currently based in Malaysia. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music (King’s College London) and a Master’s degree in Music Technology (New York University). In 2015 she started practicing abstract painting and has since exhibited her art in New York, London, Rome, Barcelona and Berlin. http://tatawaart.com/

‘We hack through thickets of doubt and disquiet in search of a land of satisfying work. If we are lucky enough to find this place, then we settle. But soon some new nemesis rises opposite: sameness, a monster with three ugly heads – boredom, apathy and restlessness. Joya is the castle that contains the potion that slays the monster.

It has been a thrill to explore the rich, dry landscapes that surround Joya. And a privilege to do it with such talented and inspirational people. Thank you Simon and Donna for creating a unique place in sympathy with this wild environment. The building is an an artwork, the drawing together of diverse souls with like minds, a treasure.

In the end, the monster was finished off with a thousand cuts, each one a small step up a steep mountainside with new friends. And it was laid to rest under almond blossoms. Flowers that pointed south, to the sun’.

Tristan Gooley

Tristan Gooley is an author and natural navigator. Joya: arte + ecología has been a follower of his work and research for several years so we were particularly pleased to receive his research proposal.

Tristan set up his natural navigation school in 2008 and is the author of the award-winning and bestselling books, The Natural Navigator, The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs and How to Read Water, three of the world’s only books covering natural navigation.

Tristan has led expeditions in five continents, climbed mountains in Europe, Africa and Asia, sailed small boats across oceans and piloted small aircraft to Africa and the Arctic. He has walked with and studied the methods of the Tuareg, Bedouin and Dayak in some of the remotest regions on Earth.

He is the only living person to have both flown solo and sailed singlehanded across the Atlantic and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal Geographical Society.

http://www.naturalnavigator.com