Horse Identification

Christopher Barr

While working on a documentary photography project of Irish travellers at horse fairs around Ireland (2005-2012), I was frequently asked to take photographs of their horses. These requests were made for practical reasons. Travellers face ongoing problems m dealing with the equine identification process. Equine passports are part of horse trading and ownership but they are often not used by travellers. Nonetheless, the horse represents significant value to the traveller owner and needs some form of identification and recording. In attempting to develop a process of documentation that would work for the travellers. I started to read writers such as Xenophon and Alphonse Bertillon, both of whom developed schemes of classification and documentation. The history of the visual representation of the horse also informed my research, especially work by Albrecht Durer, George Stubbs and David Cerny. On researching the traditional identification process the aesthetics of the horse began to fade, The more formal way of working was at odds with the travellers needs. Horse ldentification is a project informed by the visual, social and practical challenges represented by the travellers, the need to identify animals in a less formal market system.

Biography: Christopher Barr, Photographer

Christopher’s work is rooted in documentary photography and the relationships between people, place and institutions in Ireland. He published Come Talk Your Heart (2005) Gamsburg/Macmillan. He has exhibited internationally at locations such as the University of Namibia, Baylor University. In 2011 he exhibited as part of New Art Spaces Northern Ireland with photographers such as Donovan Wylie. Christopher has an MFA in Photography from the University of Ulster.