Liam Barr: Tethered
“I have always been drawn to the horse, perhaps it is because I was born in the year of the horse or perhaps it is their sheer magnificence. This beast known for its athleticism, strength and intelligence is emblematic of all that is majestic, free and pure.
In this series of portraits, I am exploring the idea of displacing these statuesque and by nature ‘free’ beasts from their natural environment and placing them within our own domestic environment as ‘things we own and indeed control’.
Alongside this and underneath much of my work I am interested in human longing and the multi-various ways that can play out. What drives us to ‘possess’ wild creatures? Is it that we long for their inherent attributes in ourselves? This eclectic group of people and their horses offer different perspectives on these questions.”
