Photo by David Stjernholm
this seems to be taken with a grain of salt, since for instance the name Feeling Fat has been approved. In addition, various factors such as superstition, sponships and breeding history play a part in the choosing of a name. A horse might thus be called E Fourtyfive, eBay Holmsminde or simply Facebook. Whether the latter got its name due to a sponsorship from the social media giant or in of hopes of good luck by the power of association one can only guess.
Arsenik
Digital collage printed on paper, framed. 62 x 89 cm.nThe poem in the work reads:
airborn bee
atju g wenbo
act cool
ananasgranat
absolutelynoexcuse
a flying drummer
allan’s hest
agnes jensen
askepot macoy
amigo baron fossum
attack photo
arsenik
Born to be alive
Digital collage printed on paper. Framed.
77 x 72 cm. The poem in the work reads:
born to be alive
bork musikfestival
be nice ice
baronesse korfu
børstefod
benytsnapshotgrand
bogetijama anibas
besøg osted antik
bornwithhangovers
bornholm nu
botox
but why
nam nam
napalm
never pay
niblø fazet
nissehønen
nips elpin
nitril
no more tears
nutana
hybris cloc
halløj crea
hamour
handle with care
hanne brother
harok haugård
hay to gain
hellestjernen
hertuginde frederik
hey look me over
hibiscus c
hilti delmonico
hippologen
history
hoplahønen
hottie safari
hov hov just
haiti
honest
huxtable hornline
Psyke, Cash Flow, Arsenik, Born to be alive & Folding Flame
Exhibited at Ung Dansk Fotografi, Fotografisk Center, 2019
Ung Dansk Samtidskunst, Kunstbygningen Vrå, 2024
In this series, photos from Charlottenlund Horse Racing Track are combined with digital drawings and poems made from the names of the racehorses. One work in the series is digitally altered to give the horse in the photo a third eye. The names of the racehorses are chosen by their owners based on a number of rules, but seem to behave unpredictably, superstitiously and poetically within the framework of these rules. In the works the names have been composed as poems based on their first letter.
The names are approved by The Danish Horse Racing Federation (Dansk Travsports Centralfor- bund) according to the following rules: All horses born in the same year have the same initial. Since the letters Q, X, Y, Z, Æ, Ø and Å are not used, there are 20 years between each A-year. Names must be max. 20 and min. 2 letters. A name can be rejected if it can be mistaken for an already registered name, or if it is deemed inappropriate (eg idiot or similar). However,
Psyke
Digital collage printed on paper Framed. 102 x 118 cm. The poem in the work reads:
Psyke
Pop game
Promise to try
Cash flow
Digital collage printed on paper.
Framed. 47 x 57 cm.
keystone bright
king of the sea
konsonant n
kabala
kansas sølvtop
kapacha
karamellen
kalta knab
katz copper
kibretto
kicky gallon
kirsten bogø
kiss du mille
kiwi monarch
know how
kolibri
kondi son
konvektion
kopi
elbow
emoji
even more coktail
e fourtyfive
embracethegunners
epos shadow
empty glass
epoke pi
enfant terrible
everybodysaidthat
eightdaysaweek
epulu
enten eller
elegant elephant
ebay holmsminde
excuse me
efterlevande
The works touch upon about how economy relates to superstition. The stock market is an example of a man-made system that exceeds our comprehension, and it is often compared to gambling. However, a more obvious comparison is horse racing, which is not considered gambling, since it requires not just luck but knowledge to win. There are of course significant differences between the two - despite the many factors that can affect the outcome of a race, the world of horse racing is a small closed system compared to the stock market, where in principle infinite variable factors can influence which stocks "win". Both are complex and unpredictable systems where, in the absence of better solutions to interpret and understand, we often resort to superstition. The three-eyed horse, which tossing its head, stands out among the otherwise unmanipulated photographs. In the strict and rulebound world of horse racing, it represents an unruly and turbulent element.