DEEP HORSE TEXTS invited five artists and their chosen human companions to spend a day with a horse in 2021–22. These artists sought out ranches, trail-rides, barns, and horse rescues where they could ride, brush, feed, or just be alongside horses. Each two-person group was given a pre-loaded camera, and the invitation to do whatever they wanted with this time.
What we, the interlopers of these DEEP HORSE ENCOUNTERS, are given to experience, are the contact sheets from each roll of film. These images function less as documentation than as a reminder that time spent with a horse exists outside of what can be held in an image.
Mercedes Webb (Malidi) is a writer of mixed ancestry including Haida (Kunn janaas) and Kwakwaka’wakw (Mama̱liliḵa̱la), living as a guest on Treaty 7 Territory. Their writing aims to inform readers and generate interest in the ways art and writing are intrinsically intertwined with the social contexts we are living through and how that informs the futures we may create. Webb’s vocals were included on the vinyl from Rita McKeough: Works. They were the recipient of the 2019 Canadian Art Writing Prize. They hold a BA with distinction in Art History and Communications from University of Calgary.