A war horse’s lot

Words written in wartime 100 years ago are the seeds that have grown into the exhibition Word and Deed, in which three Hawke’s Bay artists illistrate the futility of war, both for the fighting forces and their horses.

The artists, Wellesley Binding, David Guerin and Bridget Sutherland, have combined forces to create a moving exhibition that draws from the letters and poetry of Wilfred Owen and Alfred Owen Wilkinson.

The exhibition opened on Armistice Day last week, at the Hastings City Art Gallery, and will run until the end of January.

Bridget Sutherland utilises poetry, archival and hand painted film to reflect on the treatment of animals in war.

Using World War One film archives, she has focused on the experiences the horses lived through. “I wanted it to appear as if you were seeing through the eyes of the horses which were sent to the front line – almost none of whom made it back,” she says.

Guerin looks at the cost of trying to gain worldly sovereignty, while Binding’s black fields evoke the desolation and destruction of the people and the land.

Director Toni Mackinnon says: “It’s interesting that from words written 100 years ago the artists have created such contemporary images of issues in world conflict”.

“The exhibition opened on Armistice Day, a day that commemorates and celebrates peace time. For Binding, Sutherland and Guerin the works serve to remind us of the value peace, and to remember; lest we forget.”

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