An ancient Gaelic rural tradition set amid the modern urban landscape of 21st-century Dublin is the theme of James Horan's exhibition, Irish Horse.
Showing from 21 May to 14 June as part of the Head On Festival, Horan offers an unfamiliar and quirky view of Ireland, a world apart from the popular view of the lush 'Emerald Isle', set in drab council housing estates. Here Adidas and Nike clad teenagers, with little formal equestrian training, ride horses through the streets and keep their animals in home-made stables or a rare piece of parkland.
Image by James Horan.
Horan, who returned home to Ireland after five years in Australia, says he began to look at his own country with "fresh eyes".
"With so much change and modernisation going on I decided to document one aspect of traditional Irish culture that has remained largely unchanged, for hundreds of years, but will most likely soon fade into the history books," he said.
Horan's images focus on the annual rural horse fairs and the monthly inner-city Dublin, Smithfield Fair. Rural fairs such as Ballinasloe and Spancill Hill have been held on the same date each year, on the same patch of lush green fields for centuries.
Image by James Horan.
Dublin’s inner-city Smithfield Fair is one of the city's oldest traditions dating back to the 17th century and while the buying and selling of horses continnues in a time-honoured vein, the city has grown up around it.
"Once the sight of a traditional sprawling marketplace the square is now completely surrounded by modern apartment and shopping developments,'' Horan said.
The exhbition is at Brenda May Gallery, 2 Danks Street, Waterloo, NSW, from 21 May to 14 June. Opening hours are 11am - 6pm, Tuesday to Friday and 10am - 6pm, Saturday.
Image by James Horan.
Image by James Horan.