Katarzyna Dębska 

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residency at JOYA AIR, Velez Rubio, Spain

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16.11.2021- 23.11.2021

The residency project was supported by Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw. 

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Joya is situated on a border with National Parc Sierra del Maria los Velez where around 100 species of birds live under the special protection- it made me feel safe, that somewhere far away from the big cities there are still areas that are a kingdom of animals, where nature creates its own rules. This world is almost like an imaginary one, seemed to be very disconnected with the contemporary civilization's way of living. What can be a solution to not disturb the nature and to be able to co-exist with it again, becoming a part of it? 

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It is said that during the Covid-19 pandemics nature returned to its more primal cycles, because the noises produced by the human’s activities  (cars, airplanes, parties, etc.) were significantly reduced. This statistic was a starting point for me to work on the audiovisual project at Joya.

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During my stay I reordered sounds of birds and videos of the landscapes made of a very delicate type of rock, but strongly keeping the past inside- the limestone. In its body you can find plants and animals fossils, but it is still home for many endemic types of fauna and flora. This kind of ground is sensitive to weather changes, such as rains, so that when the water flows it leaves its shape on the surface. When hot the ground becomes like a dust.

The recordings were joined with a silent portratis of Monika Łopuszyńska, a polish opera vocalist.

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The video essay was used as a projection in a performance "Sleeping Session" at Sauna Studio in Warsaw.

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