In these paintings and drawings John Murray looks at our age-old relationship with the horse as played out in the ritual of the race meeting. The race meeting celebrates the ancient and the elemental, bringing us back to our rural roots. Part beast, part wily homo sapiens, we relish the contest between brute force and human guile and are thrilled by the danger of the chase. Domesticated to lead orderly, predictable lives, we love to be part of something where anything can happen. Bereft of our simian strength we feast on the sheer power and velocity of the horse. Civilisation’s injunction to give everyone a fair crack of the whip flies out the window as we scream at our rider at all costs to win, win, win. John Murray graduated with a First Class from IADT in September 2009. He has exhibited in a number of group shows, including the 2008 IADT Graduate Exhibition, Hidden Depths; the 2007 shows Believe me, I believe me at the Back Loft @ La Cathedral Studios, Dublin and Third Degree at The Book Cube Gallery, Dublin. In the same year his print work was selected for exhibition at Speaking the Image in The Pavilion Theatre, Dublin. He is also a member of the 10to12 art collective.