East Coast Pony focuses on the critically endangered and profoundly cute Newfoundland Pony, descended from ponies brought to Newfoundland over 500 years ago. The project, funded by ArtsNB, documents how the pony and Newfoundland landscape have changed one another, while encouraging reflection of our sense of place and our perceived relationships with animals.

The resource material for this work was collected at farms and pony pastures across Newfoundland, realized in the form of life drawings, photographs, and field sketches, with a focus of these themes. As a long-time equestrian, I was able to better observe and comprehend the budding relationships I built with these ponies, who eagerly interacted with me by stealing my art supplies, nuzzling me and my drawings, and grazing or napping next to me while I drew. I reflected on our shared histories as descendants of European Settlers and questioned how that impacted our sense of place. I contemplated what roles I could play in conservation of both the breed and the landscape it thrives in.

These resource materials served as references for a series of hardwood intaglio prints, a hybrid method of woodcut and intaglio printmaking techniques. Using Newfoundland-sourced maple and birch, I burned and engraved the wood before printing; a process that connects the resulting image to the pony’s historically industrial roots. Sometimes, I integrate additional printmaking techniques such as collagraph into this process.

East Coast Pony invites the viewer to reflect on their own sense of place, contemplate their relationship to the Newfoundland Pony, and what action they can take to promote conservation of both these ponies and the land they reside on.