Pia's World

'These are beautiful drawings and the book is a beautiful gift from a mother to a daughter.' – Tracey Emin

‘This visual diary is an illustration of Peyton-Jones’ treasuring of her daughter. Immersing myself in these touching drawings takes me back to my own days of motherhood. They’re so full of warmth, wonder and love, I’m left wanting more.’ – Philippa Perry

‘With this artist’s book, the legendary museum director Julia Peyton-Jones returns to her origins as an artist. These wonderful drawings are the first public manifestations of her return to the studio and an art career that started in the late 1970s with paintings, film and performances. Charting her everyday life with her daughter in words and images, this inspiring book is first and foremost a story about happiness.’ – Hans Ulrich Obrist

In this new book, Julia Peyton-Jones tells the story of her life with her three-year-old daughter Pia over the course of the year when Covid-19 spread throughout the world. Made every evening once her daughter had gone to bed, this beautiful series of drawings comprises a visual diary of their lives in the lead-up to and during the pandemic.

Peyton-Jones arranges her sketches, executed in ink, charcoal, pencil and watercolour, into grid formations that act like windows onto the special moments of each day, accompanied by captions. As the book develops, the drawings burst into colour and are complemented by reflections on motherhood, as well as signposts that reflect the state of the world as it was changing.

At the heart of the book is the tender relationship between a mother and her daughter, which is simultaneously deeply personal and universal. During the pandemic, mother and child are contained in a bubble, watching the park and the spaces they once occupied from their window. Everyday events become treasured highlights of the days, which roll by with all sense of time collapsed. When lockdown lifts, we share their joyful return to normality.