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 - 2025: 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:
2025: No. 12, Salon Acme Convocatoria, Mexico City, Mexico
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:
2025: Sin Equipaje directed by Juan Taratuto, Cimarron CIne, Uruguay
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:
2025: Sueños y trauma, En modo terapia (podcast)
2025: Terapia de sueños, En modo terapia (podcast)
2025: El cuerpo como mapa, Tu Terapia, (online)
2024: The body as a map, Holius, (online)
Residencies:
2025, 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
Oracular Dance
Pia Watson, 2025
Single channel black & white video on screen in wooden box
11:22
Pia Watson, 2025
Single channel black & white video on screen in wooden box
11:22
Oracular Dance is an ongoing performative body-unconscious exploration testing if a physical body can shed light to conflicts arising in a different body through a shared field of information. This piece has been shown as a series of offline performances in intimate spaces; for Salon Acme, the piece will be remade and presented as a single channel video loop with a set no of performance possibilities or “answers” based on 8 core movement frames. The video in this submission serves as an example of a previous session.
Drawing inspiration from Carl Jung’s work of the (collective) unconscious, adding the body as a pivotal component for solving trauma and conflict in Wilhem Reich & Carlos de Leon’s work, Oracular Dance highlights the urgency of reaching beyond ourselves and by connecting with the other, find solutions through a shared subtle space.
The spectator is encouraged to ask a question offering them the possibility of an answer through the video movement loop they happen to witness. A modern-day oracle, a movement I-ching, dancing tarot, or pure charlatanry, your choice.
Drawing inspiration from Carl Jung’s work of the (collective) unconscious, adding the body as a pivotal component for solving trauma and conflict in Wilhem Reich & Carlos de Leon’s work, Oracular Dance highlights the urgency of reaching beyond ourselves and by connecting with the other, find solutions through a shared subtle space.
The spectator is encouraged to ask a question offering them the possibility of an answer through the video movement loop they happen to witness. A modern-day oracle, a movement I-ching, dancing tarot, or pure charlatanry, your choice.
Oracular Dance_g
Pia Watson, 2025
Photography and ink on paper
59 cm x 42 cm
Pia Watson, 2025
Photography and ink on paper
59 cm x 42 cm
Divination is deeply intertwined with our fears, of isolation, the unknown, and ultimately, the fear of death. As humanity, we have sought for means of divination, ways to foresee the future, and answer questions that can potentially help us navigate the space-time we perceive as linear. Whether it be the Oracle of Delphi, Khandro-la, the State Medium of the Tenma Oracle in Tibetan Buddhism, or a tarot app on your smartphone, we’ve sought ways to find direction—a compass for love, success, or simply understanding the unknown.
Yet, are they all the same? Does the oracle’s success lie on the value we transfer onto it or upon subtle energies or divine beings? Modern deep psychology would claim it's a product of our personal unconscious pushing us to develop- that ultimately, answers are in our body.
The image for this submission is an ideological approximation of the piece, a series of 33 photographs taken from Oracular Dance (video piece) laid as values for divination + instructions on how to use.
Killer Eyes
David Cotterrell & Pia Watson, 2024
Two channel video instalation
David Cotterrell & Pia Watson, 2024
Two channel video instalation
When communication breaks down and triggers are more common than kindness, words begin to fail. The conventions of conversation become traps for repetitive recriminations and looping accusations.
Small involuntary ‘tells’ remain as to the genuine moments of empathy, kindness and connection that are obscured by rhetoric. Subtle physical cues offer guidance to the rage that is suppressed beneath measured argument.
The mouth is the deliverer of ideas, but the eyes are what we seek to watch. At some point we can no longer bear to look. Scared to witness, genuine disdain, hubris or anger, we may no longer have the courage to discover whether they still reveal love.
Killer Eyes is the first piece of an ongoing exploration between artists David Cotterrell and Pia Watson, an artistic research interested in discovering what might reveal where connections falter in spaces where communication is necessary to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes between individuals or groups.
Killer Eyes is presented as a two channel video installation.
Small involuntary ‘tells’ remain as to the genuine moments of empathy, kindness and connection that are obscured by rhetoric. Subtle physical cues offer guidance to the rage that is suppressed beneath measured argument.
The mouth is the deliverer of ideas, but the eyes are what we seek to watch. At some point we can no longer bear to look. Scared to witness, genuine disdain, hubris or anger, we may no longer have the courage to discover whether they still reveal love.
Killer Eyes is the first piece of an ongoing exploration between artists David Cotterrell and Pia Watson, an artistic research interested in discovering what might reveal where connections falter in spaces where communication is necessary to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes between individuals or groups.
Killer Eyes is presented as a two channel video installation.
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
