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Biologically the thoroughbred horse and the mule are similar, yet our perception of them and the roles they fulfil in our human existence is in contrast quite different. One we associate with the sport of Kings, with wealth and indulgence. The other we generally perceive as a beast of burden, a hybrid, stupid and obstinate.

My own representations of these sentient beings form a pictorial allegory which comments not on contemporary society and the way our identity is fundamentally shaped not only by genetics, but environment and circumstance.

The carousel horse is evocative of the fun fair. Of pleasure and leisure, nostalgia and the topsey-turvey meriment of the carnival. More essentially it is a form of folk art, and is used here as an icon which offers up an optomistic view of 'ordinary' people and the struggle of human existence.