Jo Mair is a sculptural artist based in Barcelona. Working primarily with clay she is heavily influenced by organic and geological formations, eroded by wind, sea, and the passage of time, she is particularly interested in the transformative degradative qualities of these forms. Her work is an investigation into the internal themes presenting in her life and their realization a physical expression of deconstructing and working through these personal lessons. She works intuitively within each theme to create the sculptural forms, often without concrete expectations of the visual outcome.
During her stay, Jo experimented with lime plaster and the use of hempcrete and seaweed as structural materials and work in process, and continued working with ceramics. One of the main inspirations for Jo is the local rock formations and their wider significance as spiritual, liminal spaces. She ended her residency with two site-specific installations.
This installation explores the accumulation of the concepts she has been developing in the past month, and creates an environment that mimics the physical sense of sitting in a cave in a meditative state and is also a representation of natural cycles and interconnectedness.
The second installation took place in a nearby cave by the beach. The installation was intended as a space for reflection, meditation, and celebration of the natural cycles of creation-destruction, growth-decay, and life-death, that rule the natural world.
Photos by Jo Mair and Emily Pappa