2024-Ongoing

Works in development from an ongoing documentation at the Beit Dagan veterinary hospital

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The first moving image was a scientific experiment attempting to record what the naked human eye could not perceive – is there a moment in a horse’s gallop wherein all four of his legs are in the air? This dissection of the body’s motion was immortalized in a portrait of an athlete in a shining coat on an eternal victory lap. 

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The dissection of the body – the living flesh, is a process mirrored in the act of photography. Both unfold according to the mantra: lights, camera, action. A half ton beast is sedated, flipped and driven into a large room. With urgency, and without the need for verbal mediation. Then the surgery begins: an invasive, violent and exacting practice, unfolding to the oblivious tune of a local radio station. Finally, the animal is re-animated, the room washed, the camera body cleared of light and the film pushed to the next frame. At the intersection of these two practice – photography in the operation room -  the horse now lives simultaneously as image and flesh. This releases photography and its subject from the victory lap and allows a deferral to the action of care and treatment. Usage of augmented photography methods from the racing world allows an empathetic encounter with the race horses’ fate, while giving us all a chance to finally cross the line and pull the curtain to the next image.