Mati Jhurry

I grew up in resorts, both my parents working for a hotel chain. Our lives unfolded behind practiced smiles and scripted lines. The job is to please. To be invisible. My home is Mauritius, a postcolonial mess. But the image of an island paradise has a stronghold on our imagination.

I explore the aesthetics of escape employed in the travel and wellness industry. At the center of my work is the labor involved in selling and performing these fantasies. I make art through investigation and performance, and turn to video, sculpture and collaboration in search of new narratives of decolonisation.

HOW DOES YOUR SUBMITTED WORK RESPOND TO THE CIRCA 20:25 MANIFESTO?
My work ‘Emirates staff n.460596’ is a durational performance. For three years I worked as cabin crew for Emirates, labouring for a colossal brand towards a commodity: the experience of luxury travel. That product is my work. Behind practiced smiles and scripted lines, I am a native tourist.

I grew up feeling the aftermaths of slavery and colonialism in what was called “a tropical paradise”. The escapist refuge often implies the fetishization of Locations, Nature, People, or entire Cultures. The exotified are exhausted.
Who creates the conditions for the creation and maintenance of a refuge?

IF AWARDED THE £30,000 CIRCA PRIZE, WHAT 10-MINUTE WORK WOULD YOU CREATE – AND HOW WOULD IT EMBODY THE SPIRIT OF REFUGIA?
My presentation is a small selection from 315 similar videos, all recorded in secret on each flight throughout my performance ‘Emirates staff n.460596’. These videos are a small part of an archive produced over the three years, containing endless paperwork, garments and objects. The prize would be an opportunity to unveil more of this work. Despite the performance having ended, most of the experiences and stories are yet to be unpacked and told. In a hyperactive world–where ideas and images are cheap–commitment is an act of care.

Vulnerability is at the core of my storytelling; Must escapism always equal exploitation?

FOLLOW MATI JHURRY ON INSTAGRAM

Funding for the CIRCA PRIZE is generated entirely by the #CIRCAECONOMY, a circular model that reinvests proceeds from affordable art sold on CIRCA.ART into new public art commissions, charitable causes, art education and prizes. Since launching in 2020, the initiative has raised over £1 Million, placing artists and communities at the centre of an economy that continually reinvests in the future of art and culture.

The CIRCA PRIZE 2025 winners will be revealed LIVE in Piccadilly Circus on Monday 13 October, with a special 30-minute award ceremony starting at 20:00 BST. Don’t miss it!