Pia Watson (b. 1984, Mexico) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Mexico City and London. She studied Arts & Literature at Simon’s Rock College of Bard and Political Sciences at the New School in New York City before earning a degree in Acting from CEFAT in Mexico City. Her work traverses performance, writing, and visual art, exploring themes of identity, individuality, and sensory perception.
Inspired by the rigorous exploration of time and endurance seen in the works of artists like Tehching Hsieh, Pia's practice delves into the intersections of rhythm, sound, and alternative modes of communication. Her projects, such as Point & Echo and Wordless Dialogue, developed in collaboration with composer Eduardo Garcilazo, investigate connectivity and sensory experiences.
In 2018, Pia's research in Scandinavia during her time as Gammen Artist in Residence led to the publication of her novella Una serie de malas decisiones y luego mi vida: Breve ensayo filosófico sobre la identidad and collaborations including Æther Trouble with Norwegian singer Solveig Sorbo. She studied performing arts with Eugenio Barba at the Odin Teatret in Denmark, further refining her exploration of human interaction and perception.
Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Mexico City, including Naif, Explorando Polígono, and Breath!, and in galleries in San Miguel de Allende and Cholula, Puebla. In 2023, Pia undertook a year-long research journey through the Himalayas and Indian landscapes, investigating the interplay of physical and mystical spaces. She recently completed a residency at Dragon’s Nest in Koh Samui, Thailand, and is scheduled for another at Studio H Canada.
Pia's artistic practice reflects her neurodivergent perspective, engaging deeply with the human psyche and spirit to explore and challenge conventional perceptions of reality.
Pia Watson Curriculum Vitae
Education:
2024 - Ongoing: Therapeutic Hypnosis, BC, Canada
2024: Lucid Body, Kennedy Brown, Mexico City, Mexico
2023 - Ongoing: Tantra Mahamudra, Amrita, Arachova, Greece
2022 - 2024: Taoism, Alchemical Meditation, Ontogony, (online)
2023 - 2024: Dreaming the Dreamer, Ontogony, (online)
2023: Voice + Rasas, Kennedy Brown, Bangkok, Thailand
2021 - 2023: Ontogonic Body-Mind Transpersonal Therapy, BC, Canada
2021: Darkness Visible, Performance, Ron Athey, Mexico City, Mexico
2021: Speaking Bodies, Movement, Alberto de León, Mexico City, Mexico
2020 - 2023: Shamanism and Healing, Ontogony, Mexico & Canada
2018 - Odin Theater Festival, Odin Theater, Holstebro, Denmark
2009 - 2013: BA in Acting for Film, Television, and Theater, CEFAT, Mexico City, Mexico
2001 - 2002: Arts and Literature, Simon’s Rock College of Bard, Alford, MA, USA
Writing:
2021 - 2024: Admissions Insights Podcast, Scholastica, writer & producer, Mexico City, Mexico
2018: Æther Trouble, Pysj, videoclip concept development and co-writing, Oslo, Norway
2017: Tomorrow is Father’s Day, Tv Azteca, 6-episode fiction series writer, Mexico City, Mexico
2016: Luma: History of Film, Az Cinema, 13-episode documentary series writer & researcher, Mexico City, Mexico
Selected exhibitions & performances:
2024: Breath!, The Farm and Distillery Space for Contemporary Art (collective exhibition), Berlin, Germany
2024: Becket/TEOREMA, Centro Cultural Teorema (reading), Mexico City, Mexico
2020: Anni Albers: Del Diseño, Alias & Casa Luis Barragán (reading), Mexico City, Mexico
2020: Wordless Dialogue_b & _c, Casa Poligono (duo performance), Mexico City, Mexico
2019: Polígono Art Fair, Casa Polígono (collective exhibition), Mexico City, Mexico
2019: Explorando Polígono, Casa Polígono (collective exhibition), México
2019: Naif, Centro Cultural Macario Matus (duo exhibition), Mexico City, Mexico
Selected films:
2023: Agathe directed by Thomas Van Altheimer, Pastor Projects, Agathe, Denmark / Mexico
2022: 5 days in June directed by Eduardo Rossoff, Changos Volando, Eva, Mexico
2019: Half Brothers directed by Luke Greenfield, Focus Features, Pamela, USA
2019: Conversaciones directed by Eduardo Clorio, Errante Films, Fernanda + Latrina, Mexico
Selected public talks:
2024: The body as a map, Holius, (online)
Residencies:
2024, Studio H Canada Art Residency, Metchosin, Canada [upcoming]
2023, Dragon’s Nest Art Residency, Koh Samui, Thailand
2018, Gamme Art Residency, Kabelvåg, Lofoten, Norway
Contact details:
Email & Phone:
watson.pia@gmail.com
CA +1 (778) 679-6691
MX +52 (55) 6510-6880
projects_wordless dialogue_
2022Wordless Dialogue is an ongoing exploration of alternative communication methods, investigating whether subtle energy channels & psychic connections can be intentionally trained and exercised, rather than merely experienced as spontaneous phenomena. It challenges the limitations of written and verbal language, suggesting that these traditional forms, while intricate and beautiful, cannot fully express the complexity of human experience. By relying solely on them, we may overlook more effective means of conveying a richer message, especially when cultural bridges have been broken or gaps are too wide, leading to conflict.
The first experiment, Wordless Dialogue_a, was a 28-day wordless exchange between artist Pia Watson and composer Eduardo Garcilazo. Daily, a visual message sent at 7 a.m., with a sound at 7 p.m., though neither message physically reached the other. In Wordless Dialogue_b, Pia hosted online sessions where she mentally sent a colour for 15 minutes, and participants reported the colour they received, testing telepathic connections without physical contact.
Materials: Mixed media, digital sound and online performance
projects_point & echo_
2020Musical codes in visual art. Sound
structuring in synchronicity with the plastic expression. Music as impulse and
vehicle for subtle channels of communication.
Point & Echo is an interdisciplinary
project of sound, visual and performative creation between composer Eduardo
Garcilazo and artist Pia Watson that explores the synchronicity and coexistence
between sound and visual art.
An exercise allowing experimentation with
physical aspects of sound, such as consonance, rhythm, colour and resonance, in
an exercise of coding and classifying elements from the visual plane in a
series of concerts with visual and performative elements that, in symbiosis
with the spectator, attempt to put in evidence the existing and yet seemingly
invisible connections between human beings.
Garcilazo and Pia decode each other´s work to create sound and visual pieces that dialogue with one another in concerts incorporating visual and performative elements that, in symbiosis with the spectator, attempt to strengthen connections and “speak” from spaces perhaps even clearer and more profound than those of words.
Materials: Mixed media, digital sound and live performance
go to Point & Echo sound library_
lux aeterna_mixed media_100 x 70 cm_pia watson 2019_
anachronic fuge 2/1 (front & back)_3 km of 70 x 25 cm_thread and
pencil on cotton paper_pia watson 2019_
listen to HOME STUDIO LIVE SESSIONS by Eduardo Garcilazo_
decoding process for anachronic fuge_
listen to POINTS by Eduardo Garcilazo_
