“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 didn’t quite know what to expect from a Joya residency; the description sounded so different from the usual residencies that I went along for the adventure. But the landscape and walking paths surrounding Cortijada Los Gázquez are truly magical…the very second day I wrote out a poem which had been marinating in my head for a month. The day after that — after watching a resident present a very different kind of performance photography — I wrote a short story in a single sitting in a fit of inspiration. Simon and Donna and the twins, along with Max the dog, Fufu the goat, and all seven cats, provide the relaxed chaos of a happy home where artists of all nationalities can forge symbiotic friendships which last beyond a single residency. A truly remarkable experience.”

Dipika Mukherjee

http://www.dipikamukherjee.com

–Shambala Junction, (Novel) 2016. Winner of the 4th Virginia Prize for Fiction.

–Ode to Broken Things, (Novel)  2016. Longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize.

–Rules of Desire. (Short Stories) 2015.

“Joya was a special place to be in contact with nature, myself and sharing ideas with other artists. My project still in development to explore the female essence. The time here allow me to think and open my vision over it being more aware.

I did a short presentation of this project through a performance which was a different path to express it, also combined with photo and video. I feel very happy with this new approach that was presented, also I would like to say thanks to all who collaborated with me on this. In general, was great to meet fantastic people from different nationalities, sharing nice and funny moments, having delicious dinners all together every night.

Thank you for this good experience!

Andree Martis

http://www.andreemartis.com

“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

“On my first day at Joya: AiR I realized how much I have been needing the kind of time and spaciousness that unfolds here. I came for this residency to continue developing a site-adaptive solo dance that explores the exchange of light and darkness between human beings and our environment. Dancing on a seemingly endless dirt road surrounded by groves of almond trees and pines, diligent ants, and a quality of light unlike any other place I have been, I felt connected to an environment that has been alive for centuries longer than I have. This terrain allowed me to become more grounded as I asked myself, “what is ancient in you, and how is that present in this dance?”

For a few days I was also joined by dancer Louisa Rader as I continue to choreograph a solo for her to perform entitled, “a wait for what the stars will bring.” With an exquisite view of the night sky, Joya: was the perfect location to let the stars inspire our embodied considerations of destiny.

Many thanks to Simon, Donna, and all the residents at Joya for their generosity, thoughtfulness, care for the environment, and creativity.

Candice Salyers   https://www.guidedance.com/registry/

” In the short time that I was at Joya, I felt that time and routine gave way to creativity. The atmosphere allows artists to take the time they need to work or reflect, with the freedom to talk to others or find solitude. While at Joya I regained a deep appreciation  for being surrounded by nature and all that it has to offer. Such a creative and inspirational atmosphere gave me an opportunity to completely immerse myself in my dancing and focus my energy”.

Louise Rader

“On my first day at Joya: AiR I wrote in my notebook ‘You have all the time in the world Zoe’. I often experienced time differently at Joya – it felt eternal. And as I draft this at the airport leaving Spain, desperately trying to capture the last essence of my residency experience, I realise soon it will exist only as memories, documents and images. However, I believe this collection of thoughts and ideas will have longevity.

I came to Joya with the intention of utilising the abundance of sunlight to produce photopolymer plates. Though such experiments were undertaken, as was inevitable other investigations and production took place.

I have an on-going project whereby I collect news headlines and re-create these using various media/technology. I have a particular collection that I return to often. They have previously existed in various incarnations – as letterpress prints and digital projections. I found myself drawn to these yet again during the residency and created these as photopolymer plates (to be printed on my return to the UK).

I collected ‘new’ current news headlines during my time at Joya. They have now become a part of this on-going project and have been subsumed into my collection. It will be interesting to see what they signify in a week, month, and year.

The physical newspaper also became a material for me during the residency as I began to experiment with cutting up and collaging news images and using the studio window as a way to experiment with the transparent nature of the paper.

In addition, I also created Cyan prints of various plants and objects that existed in the landscape and environment around Joya.  I was interested in the layers of history that inhabit the space and the stories these objects reveal.

The positive experience will certainly influence the ‘personal’ headlines I intend to create as a document of my residency period”.

Zoe Tissandier

http://www.zoetissandier.co.uk

“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

“It was impossible not to take more advantage of the experience at Joya: AiR. I felt a deep and unexplainable attraction for nature more than ever, it took me to explore every corner in this gorgeous place.

Concentration was absolute and landscape generated some kind of inspiration beyond my expectations.

The silence I experienced here, multiplied my intensity to contemplate rocks, trees, the “barranco”, the absence of moisture and survival of every living thing in this unmatched natural kingdom.

Thank you Donna, Simon, Sesame, Soli and Gwenda”.

Nicolás Vasen

www.nicolasvasen.com

Jazz singer and songwriter Diane Nalini started singing at the age of three and never stopped. Born in Montreal to Belgian and Goan parents, she sings and writes songs in four languages (English, French, Portuguese and Spanish). Her multilingual repertoire draws from her lifelong passion for jazz, French Chanson, Brazilian popular song, and great literature. “She captures jazz at its most sophisticated and joyous level,” writes Elle Magazine Canada. “I just love Diane Nalini’s voice. This is a sassy, ‘ripe plum in the Italian sun’ kind of voice… She has such sweet and effortless pitch, it’s beautiful.” (Katie Malloch, former host of CBC radio’s Jazzbeat and Tonic).

Diane has released four wide ranging and warmly received albums, and has given gala performances for President Bill Clinton and Sir Paul McCartney. She was one of two finalists for the UK’s Young Jazz Vocalist of the Year in 2001, and was nominated for the Grand Prix de Jazz General Motors at the 2002 Montreal International Jazz Festival. She has performed in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malta and South Africa. Her most recent album Kiss Me Like That, is a collection of 13 songs celebrating humanity’s fascination with the sky. From the title track’s infectious rhythms, to ‘Cuando sale la luna’ – Diane’s sultry ode to the moon, her original compositions on this album are all influenced by the wonders of the sky and stars. Her six original songs are perfectly complemented by classic jazz standards chosen carefully for this project, like “Stardust”, “Skylark”, “They All Laughed”, as well as her intimate interpretations of folk & pop songs such as James Taylor’s “Sweet Baby James” and Sting’s “Valparaiso.”

Home

Of Awe and Minor Despair

‘The journey to Joya: AiR was a compliment to my current projects in ways I only experienced once my time with Simon and Donna was over. This is to say, like all things beautiful and rare, only its absence can its true worth be felt.

And absence describes Joya: AiR egregiously well. There is an absence of all the distractions we seek to escape from, as artists trapped in the mundane. The absence of noise, of clutter, of unwanted human contact. There is no water to be wasted, and hardly any shade to take for granted. In removing all I sought to shed myself of, I found my heart and mind stripped to their bare, dry innards. Excuses and distractions dried up in much the same way the sun pulled up water from the arid ground on which I stood for a week. I was left with nothing except wide, wide space.

Joya: AiR is filled with seemingly quiet space. The people around me, busy at work with creative projects of their own, created within Joya: AiR an air of manifestation; unconsciously, sitting or walking anywhere, you know something is being made. Passion for making and creating burns at Joya: AiR. It’s in the kitchen and the art studio, in the bedrooms and the gardens. It’s on the hilltops where we sit to talk and watch sunsets, and growing slowly in the hulls of almond seeds on trees stretching upward and onward over sprawling hillsides. Even the solitude breeds something new; connection. I met the most inspiring people during my stay, and heard stories from which I’m branded. I’m bringing home the scent of rosemary and dirt, and memories of lovingly crafted meals and conversations. I carry with me new blossoms of things which grew in the spaces emptied by the Spanish sun and strong mountain winds.

From  Joya: AiR, I sought an absence of all things which held me back from creating, and found myself drowning in everything newly growing inside. All I needed was wide space to soak up the sun, and grow.

I thank Sam and Katie, Fionnuala and Dayna and Diane, for sharing freely with me all they were willing to give in our quiet, providential conversations. Simon and Donna, there’s more adoration and respect in my heart for you than I could ever hope to aptly express. «Je ne suis rien, je le sais, mais je compose mon rien avec un petit morceau de tout.» – Victor Hugo

As I grow, you are all strong branches of this tree I’m slowly becoming.”

Renée Wilson

.

replacing daily minutiae and logistics
with time and
sp ac   e
.
introducing sim-plis-i-tee and
isolation
to dissuade the usual excuses to be
pulled in other directions
.
directing days with the permission of
artistic freedom
to incorporate film and photography skills
into an existing percussive dance practice
.
allowing rich conversations with impeccable hosts and
other artists in residence to gently wash over the psyche
.

Dayna Szyndrowski

http://daynaszyndrowski.com

https://vimeo.com/daynaszyndrowski

“One thing that Joya: AiR taught me to do in such a short amount of time, was to allow myself time and space. Time away from the distractions and complications of everyday life, and space to breathe: to reconnect with myself. Once I had these two elements, the core beliefs within my art practice and even in myself, began to rise to the surface of my mind from my subconscious.

I came to Joya: AiR the week after my BA Fine Art degree show, and although I found the transition from art school to Joya: AiR to be very different and often daunting at times, it has pushed me to realise new starting points and allowed me to meet innovative and interesting creatives from all over the world. My practice has shifted and explored various avenues of interest, and I now have the solid foundations to develop on in the future.

I am very thankful to Donna and Simon for such a rich and fruitful opportunity to test my practice out in an environment opposite to the bustling northern city I am used to”.

Sam Dobson

https://artandsamdobson.wordpress.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

‘During my short week at Joya, I met incredible people and had fabulous food. Each day, Simon and Donna were more and more welcoming. Because of their openness and availability, I was able to concentrate on my curatorial research. Just like my current project, Joya: AiR is guided in the landscape and its ecology is a constant inspiration. I feel privileged to have been part of this family even for such a short week’.

Marie Charlotte Carrier  https://www.mariecharlottecarrier.com

‘I am looking out of the window of my room at Los Gázquez (home of Joya: AiR) at an olive tree in the courtyard, which has recently started to bloom. It is gently blowing in the cool afternoon wind. I recall a conversation I had with Simon earlier today, I too have an olive tree at home that flowers and also yields small fruit scant enough to make a teaspoon of olive oil. I am reminded that both trees are of the same species but belong to profoundly different climates. This relationship is something I felt a great kinship to during my time at JOYA. To inhabit such a severe environment through an art practice is in stark contrast to the bucolic soft landscapes of the West Midlands. The overwhelming beauty and scale of the environment that surrounds you here sets a challenge for your creativity, the gestures I came to perform in the barrancos (ravine), down the many paths and fire breaks in the trees, were reflections on an environment and an ecological situation that revealed itself very slowly to me over the natural course of the days.

Here in the Sierra María you follow the sun rather than the clock, the days seem to stretch and fill at an indeterminate rate as a natural existence.

I arrived expecting arid desert, wandering over white washed limestone plains, and was greeted by brilliant red poppies and rich vegetation. A three-year drought broken a few months prior to my arrival left vast fields of poppies and other ephemeral flowers running wild along the contours of the topography. After many conversations with all of the Beckmanns I came to understanding the work I was making, through arriving with virtually no materials the ephemera of the environment and the environment itself proved the richest and fertile material I could want. It was no longer about making something in the environment but to pass through it with the lightest of touches. I found myself during the nights unable to sleep through the bizarre dreams that I was having consistently, this place itself feels like a waking dream, I am returning to England with many pieces of work, a box of pine needles and a newly founded research to follow. I can only hope to return very soon to realise that this waking dream was no mirage’.

Fred Hubble     http://www.fredhubble.com/

‘Una mirada al intimidante paisaje infinito. El espacio abierto de las montañas da para pensar sobre el poder de la naturaleza. Sin embargo al comenzar a caminar poco a poco somos conscientes de las posibilidades del cuerpo humano. Paso a paso, lo imposible se hace evidente, empezamos a explorar la natuaturaleza del paisaje tanto lo global como lo microscópico. Mirando el paisaje de la Sierra de Maria Vélez observamos un sinfín de posibilidades. La participación en el paisaje nos provoca a hacernos preguntas y observaciones, tan importante en la práctica del pintor’.

Paweł Szeibel  https://pawelszeibel.jimdo.com/

“I generally prefer not to make too many plans before doing residencies and let ideas develop out of the experiences I have on them instead. In the course of several walking and cycling trips in the area around Los Gázquez I was struck by the conjunction of forest, crags and the geometric forms created by the agricultural practices in the area. Particularly the rows of almond and olive trees set agains the softly shaded earth of the fields. Geometric and abstract forms crop up regularly within the landscape structure of my paintings. I also enjoyed exploring the Barrancos, each twist and turn becoming a minute landscape in itself, a child’s eye view of the world.

This prompted me to try something which I have wanted to do for a long time but had never found the right environment for. I made various geometric props in the studio using some leftover building materials I found here combined with the rudimentary materials I had brought with me. I then carried these to the Barranco and set up a series of stage-like arrangements within these micro-landscapes. I am looking forward to using the photographs of these small installations as starting points for paintings and drawings back in London, but the process itself is something I would like to try again in different environments and with different materials”.

Ben Deakin   http://bendeakin.co.uk