Artist Statment:
This artwork features a horse painted on pieced-together canvas panels, covered in red mesh fabric. The entire circumference of the animal as well as its horizon line is held together with meticulous hand stitching. The image of a horse is one synonymous with freedom. Its image is closely tied to the Western genre, a beast that a lone cowboy may ride upon. Historically the value of the horse has been closely tied to war, trade, and subsequent Western global dominance. Folk and country songs elevate the image of wild horses running free across American pastures. However, This depiction of a horse does not manifest itself within a connotation of power. Instead, the horse is depicted in a state of confinement, unable to run free. The extra legs weigh it down rather than provide additional mobility. Despite these extra appendages, they provide him no new opportunity, acting instead as a mutation, a burden. 

This work is installed in the center of a space, allowing viewers to see the front painting of the horse, as well as the stitching seen on the back. This back view emphasizes the labor of hand stitching involved in this work. This second view also provides an image of the horse that is devoid of its previous vibrancy, an image that reduces its previous figuration into a ghostly reminder.