Astrid Harrisson has loved horses ever since she can remember. She began photographing horses while working on a ranch in Argentina almost a decade ago and became well-known as an equine photographer after she collaborated with writer Tamsin Pickeral on a book, titled The Majesty of the Horse, published in 2012. The book provides information about seventy of the world’s most important and rare breeds of horses from countries such as Spain, France, India, China, Mongolia, Iceland, Russia, Chile and Kazakhstan. Harrisson travelled to all these countries to photograph each breed in its natural habitat.
A selection of these images will be displayed in her first solo exhibition in Dubai, Spirited Breeds. The show features limited edition equine photogravure etchings, as well as large scale Archival pigment prints of Harrisson’s photographs of horses and other wild and exotic animals such as falcons, lions, giraffe and gazelles. Some of these have been shot in the UAE at locations such as private farms, the zoo in Al Ain and the nature reserve on Sir Baniyas Island.
The show is presented under the patronage of Shaikha Hissa Bint Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is a well-known breeder of Arabian horses and an art lover. She appreciates Harrisson’s talent for capturing both the physical and ethereal inner beauty and spirit of horses, and has supported her work since they met in 2010.
“I am very happy to present my work in the UAE because I have got a lot of support from the people here,” says the British photographer.
“My first trip to the UAE was in 2009, when I came to Dubai to visit a friend. I fell so much in love with the place that I have been coming back every year since then. I have photographed Arabian horses and other animals here and conducted equine photography workshops. I also used the UAE as a hub when I travelled to over 19 countries in eight months to create the photographs for my book. I am grateful to Shaikha Hissa for her support in granting me access to her horses for my photography and workshops, and for lending her gracious patronage to this collection of etchings.”
Harrisson’s photographs are intimate and powerful. Shot in various countries and environments, they range from images of majestic stallions in full gallop to a new born colt standing unsteadily on its feet; from a graceful falcon in flight to a tiger staring ferociously at the camera; from an endearing profile of a leopard to a powerful portrait of a lion. The compassion, empathy and awe Harrisson feels for her subjects, and the bond she develops with them, is evident in each photograph.
The pictures are taken from unusual angles and the artist has kept the background clean and neutral to focus the attention solely on the animals. The process of photogravure printing that Harrisson has used to produce the etchings adds to the beauty of her images. This ancient technique of transferring the image and then etching it on a copper plate for printing requires expert craftsmanship and combines image, inks and papers in unique ways. The resulting prints are somehow more human and allow for a deeper connection between the animals and viewers.
“I never plan my pictures. They happen organically as a response to the environment and my relationship with the animal at that moment,” Harrisson says. “When I am shooting in a sanctuary or zoo, I spend time with the animals to build a relationship with them before taking the photographs. It was different while working on the book. We could not travel with too much equipment, and it was challenging to shoot with natural light, work in difficult terrains, and in extremely low temperatures in places like Mongolia. It was wonderful to see rare breeds of horses in their natural environments but the best part of that project was meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures, ranging from royalty to herders in remote mountain areas, who all shared a common love for horses.”
There is a story behind every picture in the exhibition, and Harrisson recalls each encounter vividly. Pointing to her portrait of a tiger in Ranthambore, India, she says: “It was a heart racing, breath stopping experience, and an honour to come face to face with such grace and wildness.” On the other hand, she describes her photoshoot of a lioness at Al Ain Zoo as a “peaceful encounter, with the lioness and I watching each other’s every move calmly and quietly in the morning light.”
Her encounter with Charlie the cheetah was quite different. “He greeted me with his infamous ‘chirp’ at Florida’s Panther Ridge Sanctuary and took some time to accept my presence in his shady pasture, after which he seemingly ignored me. This was the moment I began to watch his behavior, his keen eye and his prowl. It was a rare experience to be on the wrong side of the fence and see things a little through his eyes,” Harrisson says.
The artist has fond memories of photographing the new born colt, Aragorn in a farm near Abu Dhabi. “He was just a day old and released into the pasture for the very first time, making his first impressions of a new world. His long legs, being used for the first time, were surprisingly sturdy, and he was enjoying the discovery of speed and learning to take corners without a care in the world. This picture encapsulates a moment in life of excitement, joy and adventure that we should all try to visit sometimes,” she says.
The story behind Camargue in the Mist, featuring a herd of beautiful white horses in the Camargue region of France, is quite personal and romantic. “The morning was blessed with a thick, low-lying mist, adding to the enchantment of the moment, when the silence was broken by thundering hooves as the flighty herd rumbled past,” the artist recalls. “Although my feet got muddy and I was bitten by marsh-midges, for me this image symbolizes everlasting romance because it was during this trip to Camargue that my husband and I met and fell in love.”
Harrisson uses her work to support wildlife conservation efforts across the world. Through this exhibition, she hopes to support Wild Welfare, an organisation that is trying to improve the lives of animals in captivity around the world, and Return to Freedom, a sanctuary in the US that is dedicated to preserving the freedom, diversity and habitat of America’s wild horses. She has also earmarked prints of her portrait of a lion in Al Ain Zoo to support WildCRU, Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, which does scientific research to find practical solutions for conservation problems. The unit has a programme named after Cecil, the famous lion who they had tracked and studied for many years before he was tragically killed by a hunter, that helps with the conservation of lions in Zimbabwe’s national parks.
Spirited Breeds will run at the Majlis Gallery in the Al Fahidi Historic Neighbourhood until February 17.
Jyoti Kalsi is an arts-enthusiast based in Dubai.
