‘My practice is often cited as largely structure-focused – its aim is to encourage a re-evaluation of viewer perceptual and spatial engagement with screens. The intrinsic relationship between the structure of the screen, and that which is shown upon it has proved to be particularly challenging throughout the development of my practice. The depiction of landscape within my work has often raised questions and remarks as to its validity within the context of a widely structure-focused practice.

Joya: arte + ecología, with its ethos centred on sustainability, became the perfect platform to address the ongoing issue of landscape depiction on screens within my own practice. Initial intentions of my residency included explorations of phenomenology and memory in relation to landscape when disseminated on screen based technology.

And yet, as my week long residency progressed, the urgency of the environmental issues at the core of Joyas philosophy introduced new avenues for work making, as well as resurfacing long-dormant concepts in my practice.

Fresh questions arose as to the role of the screen as a tool of dissemination for these sustainable values. That which is depicted on the screen is a mediated depiction of reality – often misconstrued and exploited, screen based imagery can become commodified by various broadcasting platforms. Furthermore, with viewers increasingly becoming distanced and desensitised from content presented on screens, how can the screen be used to depict the delicate reality of ‘abstract concepts such as climate change’?

Questions such as these reaffirmed my decision to spend the week at Joya – problematizing and challenging the core principles of my practice allowed for further investigation and experimentation within my work.  Introducing my research concerns alongside those of Joya: arte + ecología pushed my understanding of my own works aims, and its possible outcomes.

The aim upon my arrival was to submerge myself and my practice in an environment with an understanding and appreciation of landscape and our relationship to it. As a practitioner that embraces speculative and experimental work making, this surrender to the trails, hills, fluvial systems, flora and fauna proved a fertile environment for observational video making and subsequent editing.

Works depicting a gradual slip from identifiable landscape to a state of abstraction were just one outcome. This metaphor, though simple in concept, speaks to the ongoing environmental concerns at Joya: arte + ecología.

It is a shame that my visit was short, as the enormity of the surrounding landscape would no doubt have raised further thoughts and inspiration had I stayed longer. The hugely accommodating Simon and Donna supported my residency at every point, offering critique and space for reflection in equal measure.

The work that I have put together over the week will provide me with a trajectory and points for further consideration for months to come’.

James Quinn is a Phd student studying at Norwich University of the Arts and University of the Arts London. http://www.nua.ac.uk/ma-degree-show-2015-catalogue/james-quinn/

Margherita Rossi has joined Joya: arte + ecología from London, to work as our Project Developer.

Margherita grew up in the art world between Venice and Munich, between Vicenza and the mountains of South Tyrol. After completing an undergraduate degree in the Economics of Art at the Univeristà Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, she moved to London.

Margherita worked at Sotheby’s in the Impressionist and Modern Art department as a Cataloguer and Researcher, and she has continued to explore private collections of international art-dealers, as well as artist studios and galleries.

Her increasing involvement with contemporary art allowed her to take an opportunity as a Gallery Assistant at Hauser & Wirth. Here, she gained a deeper understanding of the multiple organisational aspects involved in running a major contemporary art gallery.

Most recently, she gained a Post Graduate Diploma in the History of Art at the Courtauld Institute.

Aside from her gallery work, Margherita aims to one day establish a sustainable arts foundation that combines her passion for art and supporting young international artists. Additionally, she is planning to create a collective of female artists and photographers from around the world, acting as a platform to encourage, exhibit and sell their works.

It is impossible to not be inspired by the surroundings / people / vegetation / mountains and the living world around Los Gázquez (home of Joya: AiR). I tried to breathe it all in and create a body of work that speaks with the encircling landscape. A conversation of our interrelation with the natural world recorded in photographs and interpreted drawings.

I was amazed by the dry fluvial systems (barrancos) which can be walked for miles. During storms rocks are washed from the walls and you can see and feel the energy of the flood water as it courses down the mountain to the sea. Its energy leaves unbelievable impressions on the earth, mixed with treasures like fossils and other hidden histories which are revealed once again. A magical residency throughout.

Fiona Struengmann

http://www.fionastruengmann.com

The Call of Nature

My residency, hosted by Joya: arte + ecología in the Parque Natural Sierra María-Los Vélez in Almeria, Spain, was not the anticipated escape and period of artistic concentration that I expected. It was full of distraction. The landscape intruded on everything I did, bearing through the windows at every turn and enticing me away from artwork and out of the house.

The residence is in a remote location, but it is not devoid of signs of life, however distant they might be. It is rural but not primal. Every aspect of the house and landscape has been cultivated by humans. It is cultured. The almond trees, Aleppo pines, firebreaks, derelict buildings, stray cats, rabbit droppings, unused wells are all results and residues of human action.

The connection between the renovated farmhouse building of Joya (the Cortijada Los Gázquez) and the landscape it is sited within is very direct. Everyday human activity (showering, preparing food/drink, boiling the kettle, going to the toilet, brushing teeth, washing clothes and utensils, painting etc) is loaded as the organisation strives to be a sustainable ‘off-grid’ self-reliant machine. Every basic and greedy need I had (to clean, to drink, to be warm, to eat, to dispose of waste) effected and relied upon the energy systems of the house and therefore the environment I was within. Every time I made a cup of coffee I was boiling with guilt as I used crucial energy and water. Every shower I took was a battle with my conscience. It was also a delightful feeling of wrongdoing.

I keep myself very well hydrated. Basically I drink a lot. I like running in the mornings which involves refreshment afterwards. I love a hot drink. All this liquid is exactly what is scarce in this eroded, arid and bleached land.

The landscape is parched, barren and very thirsty due to the effects of decades of human land use, climate change and land abandonment. Water systems designed to store and capture rainfall and irrigate crops no longer work. The land crumbles underneath your feet. I caused a mini landslide when stumbling down a hillside. The loose stones were dropping off the mountain face like icing sugar blown from a cake.

Distracted from painting, I went for daily walks after a few cups of tea. At some point during the walk the ‘call of nature’ would summon. Being in such a quiet place where you could walk for hours and not see a soul, I happily relieved myself openly on the chalky dry soil. This natural compost, or ‘Humanure’ as Jenkins calls it is very eco-friendly and I felt pleased to finally do my bit for the planet and save flushing the toilet. This action of carrying the precious liquid inside me from the house and releasing it into the landscape became a poignant ‘act’ as I was guest/pest to the host organisation. I was in affect transporting their water into the landscape. This ‘release’ was symbolic, but also a ‘waste.’

The only painting it felt fitting to do whilst in this fascinating location and yet equally perverse, was painting that was dependent upon using water; watercolour. I brush-placed globules of watercolour onto paper that slowly seeped into its ground, this gradual absorption mirroring the process of rainfall soaking the soil, turning from half-sphere 3D paint to fully immersed into the paper flesh when dried. I also brush-dropped watercolour onto paper, turning these circular splatters into shapes that resembled the Aleppo pines outside and architectural and landscape design tree drawing templates.

Rachel Magdeburg 2016

When I applied or a writer’s residency at Joya: AiR I had been attracted by the word interdisciplinary in it’s description. Having studied science and currently working in the field of communication, it seemed like a good fit. I applied and sent my writing samples and was thrilled to be selected! There was a problem though.

I had fallen recently and my left hand was in a plaster cast almost till the elbow. Would I be able to undertake this journey – thousands a miles away from home, family and everything familiar? My doubts swarmed like bees in my head, and I nearly cancelled, but decided to come at the last moment.

My route took me through Delhi – Istanbul – Madrid – Sevilla – Granada – Vélez Rubio. Along the way I learned to deal with security and customs, drag my suitcase one-handed, figure out the trains and buses in Spain, and communicate in rudimentary Spanish. By the time I reached Cortijada Los Gázquez (the home of Joya: AiR) I was exhausted. Yet this white, rectangular building, renovated and combined from five different houses, felt like home.

I learned about the ecological and artistic projects, walked, and decompressed, finally! As I chatted with my hosts, ate delicious meals everyday, and observed the landscape around me, I realised the commonality of problems between Spain and India – water shortage, drought (floods in some areas), farmers crises, villagers flocking to cities and resultant urban crises.

I realised that a lot of conservation efforts – rainwater harvesting, water recycling, solar electricity usage, renewal of ancient water catchments could be adopted in India as well. My stay taught me about the intersection of art and ecology and the importance of conversations and collaborations between people from various disciplines. The hope and faith that my hosts and other resident artists put into various projects, inspired the same in me. I started painting, after years, and integrating my poetry with my paintings.

During my journey here, I had (inadvertently) witnessed the Semana Santa processions. Perhaps it is fitting that I am leaving with a feeling of renewed faith – in myself and in life.

Jonaki Ray

Writer in residence April 2016