An invitation to slow down the frantic pace of everyday life and reconnect with the essence of the earth. This is what multidisciplinary artist Jessica Persson proposes in her new and evocative exhibition, ‘Colours of the Land’, which opened on Saturday 10th at the Centro de Artes de Mijas Pueblo, where it will be on display until the 8th of June.
A refuge for the soul and the senses in the heart of the Virgen de la Peña Square in Mijas Pueblo, with a collection of ceramic pieces that are literally born from the Mijas landscape that surrounds and nourishes this creator, who also teaches at this centre.
What sprouts
“I have brought a little bit of my universe, of the nature around me”, Persson confessed during the opening. Her creative process is one of total immersion, as she works “where I live, directly on site, choosing a place that inspires me and moves me”. The artist carefully collects terracotta, sienna and amber-coloured clays, stones, wood and even bones, elements that she then incorporates into her works, using her hands as her main tool and letting the environment dictate the textures and shapes. The result is organic ceramics, full of tactile surfaces that explore the boundaries between everyday objects and sculptural pieces.
But beyond aesthetics, ‘Colours of the Land’ is a tribute to nature and a reflection on “loneliness, freedom and finding our roots in an anxious world that is spinning faster and faster”. As the artist herself explained, “sometimes we don’t see our inner light and we are left without answers. However, when we stop, connect with nature and listen to it, we can find and see the solutions”. It is a call to “reconnect with yourself” and to “stop to find calm”.
A vibrant centre
The president of the Mijas Arts Centre, Pernille Knudtzon, did not hide her satisfaction during the presentation: “Jessica is a teacher here, she makes very spectacular art, so it is a pleasure to invite everyone to come and see this exhibition and contemplate what we do here. Because we have a professional art centre and I am proud of it”. Knudtzon recalled that the centre, founded more than half a century ago thanks to a donation from two American citizens with “a deep love for art”, remains true to its vocation of offering artistic opportunities, “especially to children”.
That is why the Mijas Arts Centre, as its president explained, is a hub of activity, with exhibitions that are renewed every month, the next one, arriving in June, will feature work by Ludmila Serra, with sculptures and drawings, and a wide range of regular classes that include ceramics, painting, drawing, decoration and even Pilates, as well as specific workshops such as mosaics for children and abstract painting.
A complete artist
Jessica Persson, who holds a degree in ceramics from the San Telmo School of Art in Malaga and has an international career, brings her vision and expertise to this melting pot that is the Mijas Arts Centre. Her ‘Colours of the Land is, in short, an opportunity to see the landscape of Mijas transformed and, perhaps, to find in these pieces an echo of our own need for connection and serenity. An exhibition to look at and feel calmly.
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