Horse Painting

Painted whilst on a residency to Baku, Azerbaijan, the horse image is a detail from a larger drawing. These elaborate illustrations were allowed to be made in book form and shown to friends in the many areas of Islamic culture in both the near and far east. The art form survived many burning of libraries, revolutions and the coming and going of many great empires. The fact that this art form and the horse have both been such an important part of Islamic life for so long is a fascinating idea. Many cultures have n affinity to horses, but desert based cultures seem to hold strongly to an equine dominated past. The frame is an ornate gold guilt frame, re used and re purposed. I have left it un finished and used a minimum of 'new' materials, paint and glue so as to mediate any negative effects on the environment. I use the word humanimal to encompass my practice which is concerned with the animal/human relationship both past and present.