The Proposal:

“Petit Cheval du Fer” is a printmakers examination of the Canadian Horse; the country’s National heritage breed whose history has intricate ties with Quebec’s colonial history. Descended from warhorses shipped from France in 1665, they adapted to the harsh winter climate of Quebec alongside Habitants, earning their title, “le petit cheval de fer” (the little horse of iron), for their strength, resilience, and endurance, and have continued to live up to their name despite nearly a century of endangerment. Their distinct features and small stature make them easy to identify in select paintings from Canadian art history; particularly within the works by 19th century Dutch Canadian painter Cornelius Krieghoff.

The first part of “Petit Cheval du Fer” will consist of research and onsite study through Quebec’s St Lawrence Valley and into Ottawa, Ontario during January 2025, when the winter landscapes that formed the Canadian Horse are prevalent. Further research will require the perusal of Musée des Beaux-Arts of Quebec, Ottawa’s National Gallery, and Fredericton’s Beaverbrook in pursuit of evidence of the breed in historic paintings - how artists captured its features at the time, their place in the landscape, lifestyle, and relationship with people taking that information back on the road as a point of comparison alongside contemporary versions of the breed in its current setting.

Further documentation will require field sketches, photographs and videography through visits to notable stables, meeting Canadian Horse owners, conversing bilingually to discuss their experiences with the breed. My 30 years of equine experience will facilitate a safe environment and allow me to better understand this rare breed as I proceed to interact with the horses. On site work will capture the horses in their historic landscape while contemplating whether our shared history as descendants of European Settlers impacts our connection and sense of place. Meanwhile, observations of the historical breed cross sectioned with researched material will better describe how both horse and land have changed one another in a contemporary colonial context.

This gathered research and documentation will serve as the groundwork for a new body of prints. Using the facilities at Atelier d’Estampe Imago, this new series will involve a combination of cyanotype and intaglio techniques to create images of Canadian Horses in their historic landscapes using mixed print media. The former will offer monochrome backgrounds in cool winter blues; the latter, primarily realized in collagraph and hand-cut copperplate etchings, will be used to create embossed contemporary structures alongside today’s Canadian Horses, printed in their traditional coat colours and planted into the landscape.

Petit Cheval de Fer presents an opportunity for me to expand my practice beyond Atlantic Canada, work bilingually to increase my reach and accessibility in the arts community, and experiment with new combinations of printmaking techniques. The final body of work will invite the viewer to reflect on their sense of place, their relationship with the Canadian Horse, and what they can do to enable the conservation of both the breed and the land that formed it.