Equinox 2017

Equinox
Horses and Video Art, curated by Rebecca Russo

Equinox, a project of Contemporary Art which is the result of integration, innovation and research, will be presented at the 119th edition of Verona Horse Fair, which will be held from 26 to 29 October 2017.

The fair, internationally well known, is an opportunity for entertainment, sports and equestrian culture.
Media-partners of the event will be Verona Horse Fair and Videoinsight® Foundation, in collaboration with Analix Forever, Joey Rinaldi and Silvia Piccolino Boniforti Parelli Professionals, supported by TermalVet, Animal & Equine Thermography.

The event is born from a reflection on the relationship between Man and Horse, as a new opportunity for dialogue between Culture and Nature, and as a possible enrichment of the traditional program of this very important horse show, attracting thousands of people from around the world. Every year the fair welcomes more than 170.000 visitors.

Mighty, regal and elegant, capable of leading us away, the Horse manages the instinct forces. Symbolically connected to the life force, it is a symbol of freedom without boundaries and without limits.
In Art the Man has always projected on the figure of the Horse his ambiguous, contradictory and divine nature. The psychological symbolism identifies in the Horse and in the Rider the existing relationship between the Es, the libidinal energy that permeates the whole world and the Ego. The vehemence of such instinctual energy proposes to the individual the difficult and necessary synthesis in himself of Nature and Culture, Instinct and Consciousness.

International Artists are facing this wonderful Creature that sends a message revealing him as an Archetype of a ‘Possible Care’, for the Artist and for the Spectator.

In ‘Karakul’ (Taus Makhacheva, 2007) the difficult relationship existing between a Horse and a Human Being completely covered by an astrakhan fur, which also covers his hands and his face, takes the form of an utopian initiative.

The wonderful video of Kathi Prosser ‘Horses never lie’ (2003) shows a woman whose dance inspired by the movements of the horses talks about Birth, Life and Death.

In ‘The Path’ (Emilia Faro, 2017) a Woman and a Horse face together a route, magical and intense experience that will take them to the hard conquest of an Existential Balance.

In the video ‘The New Flag’ (2012) by the Russian artist Polina Kanis, a woman on horseback holds a flag as a symbol of victory, then she tries to mount on a horse with the help of an assistant, falling several times and starting again, but she never reaches her goal. The artist invites us to reflect on the difference between Real World and Ideal World.

The video ‘Battle for the Square’ (Said Atabekov, 2009) shows us, with an obsessive close shot, the chaotic clash of riders for the conquest of a dead lamb. This scene, which documents the traditional competition of Kokpar, becomes a metaphor for any kind of violent struggle between men.

In the video ‘Ativan’ (2003) by Janet Biggs a horse is running on a treadmill while men and women are performing exercises immersed in a pool. The artist puts all of humanity in front of a mirror.

• March 2, 2017
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