Fiera Cavalli Verona, 2017
Padiglione 8, Pala BMW
Equinox. Horses and Video Art, by Rebecca Russo
In collaboration with Fiera Cavalli, Verona, Fondazione Arte Scienza Videoinsight®, Bologna, Analix Forever, Geneve, Joey Rinaldi, Silvia P. Boniforti Parelli Professionals, Verona, Galleria Glance, Turin
Equinox is a Contemporary Art project, which is the result of integration, innovation and research, and 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. Powerful, elegant and regal, capable of taking us far, the horse manages the forces of instinct. Symbolically linked to the vital force, it is a symbol of freedom without borders and limits. In art, man has always projected his own ambiguous and contradictory, divine nature onto the figure of the horse. Psychological symbolism identifies in the horse and the rider the relationship between the Id, the libidinal energy that permeates the entire world, and the Ego. The impetuosity of this instinctive energy proposes to the individual the difficult and necessary synthesis within himself of nature and culture, instinct and conscience. Five international artists and five videos confront this wonderful creature that sends a message, revealing itself as an archetype of a possible cure for the Artist and the spectator. In “Karakul” – Taus Machakeva, 2007 – the difficult relationship between a horse and a human being completely covered in astrakhan fur, which also covers his hands and face, takes on the characteristics of a utopian initiative. The beautiful video by Kathi Prosser “Horses never lie”, 2003 shows a woman whose dance inspired by the movements of horses speaks of birth, life and death. In “The Path” by Emilia Faro, 2017, a man and a horse face a journey together, a magical and intense experience that will lead them to the difficult conquest of an existential balance. The video installation by Russian artist Polina Kanis is a diptych between a video and a photograph. In the photograph a woman on horseback holds a flag as a symbol of victory. In the video, the young woman tries to ride a horse with the help of an assistant, falling several times and starting over again without ever reaching the goal. The artist invites us to reflect on the difference between the real world and the ideal world. The video “Battle for the Square” by Said Atabekov, 2009 shows, with an obsessive close-up, the chaotic clash of the knights for the conquest of a dead lamb. This scene, which documents the traditional Kokpar competition, becomes a metaphor for any type of violent fight between men. “Sofikon Epidaurus” by the English artist Maria Marshall is a work that speaks of conflict and identity through a red thread that a woman and a horse wrap around the walls of a house. In Janet Biggs’ ‘Ativan’ (2003), a horse runs on a treadmill while men and women immersed in a pool perform exercises. The artist places all of humanity in front of a mirror.
For the first time Fiera Cavalli has met Contemporary Art. The fair, internationally well known, is an opportunity for entertainment, sports and equestrian culture. The project was presented at the 118th edition of Verona Fieracavalli, which took place from 26 to 30 October 2017.
Thanks to Comune di Verona. Media-partners of the event were 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
Thanks to Emilia Faro
Exibart Settembre – Ottobre 2017
19 Ottobre 2017 | EXIBART Verona Fieracavalli apre all’arte contemporanea.’Equinox’ by Rebecca Russo
