The Horsewife. Times of the Day (2022)

This picture cycle is an exploration of female domestication by means of photography, imagining a horse figure’s activities, pastimes, and moods over the course of a day.  It is based my fabric sculpture Horsefigure (Mare) that here becomes a Horsewife.

Reflecting the equation of women and animals in a patriarchal culture through language and treatment, and their domestication and instrumentalization, the sculpture is shown in an abundance of settings. The name of the original figure, Horsefigure (Mare), refers to the derogatory and sexually connoted use of the term ‘(brood)mare’ for women. The vertical posture, limbs, and gestures make it appear human, while other shapes, the colour, and the use of leather show a connection to fur animals. Deco fabric and elements give references to the domestic as the traditionally feminine sphere and to women’s adornment, the revealed seams to techniques of feminine creation, and laces to female sexuality. In the photographs, sizes and perspectives of meaning are expressed, just like the environment and its objects becoming huge for us when we are constantly exposed to them and cannot escape. Also, the compression and expansion of time are visualized.