Horse / human entanglements: new materialisms and non-human perspectives in art

Abstract

Making Art with Horses is a liminal experiment at the intersection of animal studies and performative contemporary art. A starting point for research is the assertion that non-human species and processes have perspectives, and that these perspectives have been under-explored in contemporary art and theory. Epistemological and ontological direction is guided by Karen Barad’s Agential Realism, the broader movement of new materialisms including the assemblage theory of Giles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, as well as phenomenological observation practices. Horses have been selected as the species with which to think with, due to the historical entanglements of horse-with-human becomings, as well as the feasibility of working with such a large non-human mammal in an urban setting. Research contexts for the doctoral project are the Anthropocene, non-human and posthuman turns in Continental and Anglophile philosophy, the emergence of new materialisms, and the interdisciplinary qualities of recent contemporary art practice, particularly the permeability of art/science boundaries. The intention of this doctoral project is to extend thinking and practice in these disciplinary areas. An immersive approach was undertaken through engaging with two companion research horses, Picasso and Prince, over three years. Research videos, diary notes and the experiential records of specific experimental encounters are diffracted through theory in the thesis text. Art practice is considered as a productive zone for interspecies encounters that are not pre-determined by thinking in traditions of horse husbandry, scientific epistemologies such as behaviourism, and the competitive atmosphere of horse sports. Production of videos and paintings with the horses proved to be fecund sites for development of partial-perspectives with non-human species. A moral compass for the work was set to foreground the sentience of horses, as well as response-ability for the horses during each activity. A strong motif of justice-to-come, building on the interspecies ethical work of Donna Haraway, Karen Barad and Jacques Derrida pervades the thesis, due to perceived imbalances across inter-species utilitarianism. Contributions within the thesis include development of a performative multispecies aesthetics and extensions to human-animal art practice. A practice-led approach based in the arts is the modus operandi of the research described in this thesis. Sitting at multiple cusps in disciplines and perspective required an open ended and adaptive approach. Things and processes drove inquiry in tandem with existential concerns of contemporary philosophy. Based in a framework of interspecies justice, the artwork practice has strived to be horse-led, and so was facilitated then translated, rather than entirely directed, by the human artist. The methods by which other-than-human species can be invited to participate in cultural production are demonstrated through the artworks produced. Translation across multispecies perspectives from the paddock to the gallery has also been considered in depth through the mechanisms of material-affect. Artworks produced include paintings, art installations, video artworks, a participatory game and online social media outputs.