Project, Horse Day
Horse Day 2013-2017
Mohamed Bourouissa first learned about the existence of community stables on Fletcher Street in Philadelphia, PA, from images by the American photographer Martha Camarillo collected in her book Fletcher Street. This discovery led to his artistic residency in the United States in 2014. Founded by African American horsemen, the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club is located in the working-class Strawberry Mansion neighborhood in North Philadelphia. It runs a training program welcoming local youth, who come to learn the ropes of horseback riding, and at the same time serves as a horse rescue.
Horse Day is a reflection on the representation of the figure of cowboy in American cinema and on the practice of whitewashing. In the popular imagination, the cowboy is a somewhat gruff white male who looks a lot like John Wayne. In the United States, Hollywood is much to blame for the official, biased vision of American history. In reality, the history of the conquest of the American West teems with people from all walks of life, including Blacks, Mexicans, and even Native Americans. Horse Day borrows the classic codes of the western only to better deconstruct them and reveal the great diversity of American equestrian culture, deliberately reduced to its white participants through the invention of the myth of the conquest of the West.
Mohamed Bourouissa settled in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood with the intention of documenting of the presence of these Black riders erased from the collective American memory. Over the course of eight months, he forged a relationship of exchange and trust with the local community. He proposed that they organize a day of celebration, a Horse Day, a kind of street fair featuring an equestrian competition as the event’s highlight. The champion of these jousts, selected by a local jury, won a few dollars and the respect of all.
The event was the starting point for a narrative constructed in collaboration with the protagonists, combining the history of the community stables with the mythical image of the cowboy and the conquest of the West, a unifying moment in American history. The film Horse Day retraces the preparations to this day of events, in which every member of the community was invited to take part. During the equestrian competition, the riders led their horses dressed up, or rather “customized,” by local artists, just as decorations are used to personalize a car. This art of “horse tuning” was extended to sculptures and installations composed of photographs silkscreened directly onto parts of the car body. The artist plays with the mirror effect of the hood, creating the impression of a distorted image of reality.
Horse Day also features several dozen preparatory drawings by Mohamed Bourouissa, precious witnesses to his working method, as well as a set of photographs, intimate portraits of the community of horsemen, bridging the double social and cultural distance that would have been impassable from an outsider’s perspective.
Guillame Lasserre
Horse Day, video diptych color and sound, 13’32’’, 2014-2015 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP
Production: Mobiles, Corinne Castel with PMU support
Shown at :
• HARa!!!!!!hAaaRAAAAA!!!!!hHAaA!!!, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (DK), 2021-2022
• HARa!!!!!!hAaaRAAAAA!!!!!hHAaA!!!, Goldsmiths CCA (UK), 2021
• Horse Day, Ryerson Image Center, Toronto (CA), 2020
• Your footsteps are the road, for there is no road, Red Brick Museum, Bejing (CN), 2019
• Pour une poignée de dollars, Blum&Poe, Los Angeles (US), 2019
• Urban Riders, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris (FR), 2018
• 10th Liverpool Biennal, FACT, Liverpool (UK), 2018
• Once upon a time… The Western. A new frontier in Art and Film, Museum of Fine Art of Montreal, Montreal (CA), 2018
• Urban Riders, The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (US), 2017
• Horse Day, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta (US), 2017
• Mohamed Bourouissa: Horse Day, Stedelikj Museum, Amsterdam (NL), 2016
• Black Cowboy, The Studio Museum, New-York City (US), 2016
• La vie Moderne, 13th Biennal of Lyon, Lyon (FR), 2015
• Hustling, Galerie kamel mennour, Paris (FR), 2015
• Mohamed Bourouissa, Haus der Kunst, München (DE), 2014
Fairmount Park, 2015, inkjet print, 130 x 170 cm
Fairmount Park, 2015, inkjet print, 130 x 170 cm
Foot Locker, 2013, c-print, 141 x 94 cm
Sans titre, 2013, lambda print, 160 x 111,5 cm
Foot Locker, 2013, c-print, 141 x 94 cm
Sans titre, 2013, lambda print, 160 x 111,5 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2014, pencil on paper framed, 45 x 37 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2013-2016, pencil and watercolor on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, watercolor on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2014, pencil on paper framed, 45 x 37 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2013-2016, pencil and watercolor on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, watercolor on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, pencil and watercolor on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2014, collage on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, watercolor and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, pencil and watercolor on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2014, collage on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, watercolor and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2016, watercolor and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2016, watercolor and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2015, collage on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2016, collage on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2015, collage on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2016, collage on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, watercolor and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage and pencil on paper framed, 45 x 35 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage and watercolor on paper framed, 45 x 37 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, watercolor and pencil on paper framed, 35 x 43 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage and pencil on paper framed, 45 x 35 cm
Sans Titre (série Horse Day), 2017, collage and watercolor on paper framed, 45 x 37 cm
Demain c’est loin, 2017, silver print on steel plates, car body parts, spray paint, varnish, covers and straps, 160 x 420 x 150 cm
Demain c’est loin, 2017, silver print on steel plates, car body parts, spray paint, varnish, covers and straps, 160 x 420 x 150 cm
Caleb #2, details, 2018, 3D acid polyactic sculpture, resin, silver prints on car body parts, aluminium plate, saddlery, palet and laquer, 250 x 125 x 90 cm
Caleb #2, 2018, 3D acid polyactic sculpture, resin, silver prints on car body parts, aluminium plate, saddlery, palet and laquer, 250 x 125 x 90 cm
Betty, 2018, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, metal plate and varnish, 121 x 86 x 29 cm
Caleb #2, details, 2018, 3D acid polyactic sculpture, resin, silver prints on car body parts, aluminium plate, saddlery, palet and laquer, 250 x 125 x 90 cm
Caleb #2, 2018, 3D acid polyactic sculpture, resin, silver prints on car body parts, aluminium plate, saddlery, palet and laquer, 250 x 125 x 90 cm
Betty, 2018, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, metal plate and varnish, 121 x 86 x 29 cm
Ride day #2, 2019, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, galvanized steel, rivets, car paint, spray paint, varnish, horse blanket, digital print on horse blanket, horse bit, stirrup and steel frame, 227 x 633 x 67 cm
Victor, 2018, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, metal plate and varnish, 120 x 90 x 33 cm
The unicorn, 2019, silver print on aluminium plate, spray print and varnish, 175 x 150 x 10 cm
Keason on the road, 2018, silver prints on car body and windows parts, sublimation, galvanized aluminium sheets, details, 200 x 120 x 320 cm
Keason on the road, 2018, silver prints on car body and windows parts, sublimation, galvanized aluminium sheets, details, 200 x 120 x 320 cm
Keason on the road, 2018, silver prints on car body and windows parts, sublimation, galvanized aluminium sheets, details, 200 x 120 x 320 cm
Keason on the road, 2018, silver prints on car body and windows parts, sublimation, galvanized aluminium sheets, details, 200 x 120 x 320 cm
Window 4, 2017, black and white silver prints on car body part and varnish, 81 x 64 x 14 cm
Keason on the road, 2018, silver prints on car body and windows parts, sublimation, galvanized aluminium sheets, details, 200 x 120 x 320 cm
Keason on the road, 2018, silver prints on car body and windows parts, sublimation, galvanized aluminium sheets, 200 x 120 x 320 cm
Father and son #2, 2020, silver print on galvanized steel, rivets, wood, resin, steel and varnish, 122,5 x 100 x 4 cm
Donnie, 2016, Black and white silver print on car body part, 193 x 112 x 21,5 cm
Father and son #2, 2020, silver print on galvanized steel, rivets, wood, resin, steel and varnish, 122,5 x 100 x 4 cm
Donnie, 2016, Black and white silver print on car body part, 193 x 112 x 21,5 cm
The ride, 2017, Color and black and white silver print on car metal plate, body part, spray painting and laquer, 235 x 800 cm
The ride, 2017, Color and black and white silver print on car metal plate, body part, spray painting and laquer, 235 x 800 cm
Alpha Konate, 2018, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, print on horse blanket, metal plate and paint, 185 x 245 x 45 cm
Alpha Konate, details, 2018, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, print on horse blanket, metal plate and paint, 185 x 245 x 45 cm
Alpha Konate, details, 2018, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, print on horse blanket, metal plate and paint, 185 x 245 x 45 cm
Alpha Konate, 2018, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, print on horse blanket, metal plate and paint, 185 x 245 x 45 cm
Alpha Konate, details, 2018, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, print on horse blanket, metal plate and paint, 185 x 245 x 45 cm
Alpha Konate, details, 2018, silver print on car body parts, print on Sublichrome, print on horse blanket, metal plate and paint, 185 x 245 x 45 cm
Rosey and Peewee's costume, 2014, Construction and manufacturing waste, mylar, tape, carpet, foil adhesive and cotton thread
Filly Flowers, 2017, Cardboard, making tape, wood glue, hot glue, mesh wire screen, and artificial flowers
Filly Flowers, 2017, Cardboard, making tape, wood glue, hot glue, mesh wire screen, and artificial flowers
Rosey and Peewee's costume, 2014, Construction and manufacturing waste, mylar, tape, carpet, foil adhesive and cotton thread
Filly Flowers, 2017, Cardboard, making tape, wood glue, hot glue, mesh wire screen, and artificial flowers
Untitled, 2017, Hand and machine-stitched fabrics
Fletcher Street, 2014, Silk screen on cotton, cotton thread, organic batting
I love everyone, 2014, Silk screen on cotton, cotton thread, organic batting
Mercury & Hermes, 2017, Industrial felt, polyester, webbing, boning, batting, trim, buckles
Fletcher Street, 2014, Silk screen on cotton, cotton thread, organic batting
I love everyone, 2014, Silk screen on cotton, cotton thread, organic batting
Mercury & Hermes, 2017, Industrial felt, polyester, webbing, boning, batting, trim, buckles
Costume for Chanel, 2017, Disques compact (CDs), vynil acrylique, contreplaqué peuplier, ruban adhésif,
Where are the Humans? Blanket, 2014, Silk screen on cotton, cotton thread, organic batting
Flying Horse, 2015, Mixed media, wood, plastic, batting
Costume for Chanel, 2017, Disques compact (CDs), vynil acrylique, contreplaqué peuplier, ruban adhésif,
Where are the Humans? Blanket, 2014, Silk screen on cotton, cotton thread, organic batting
Flying Horse, 2015, Mixed media, wood, plastic, batting
Exhibition view of HARa!!!!!!hAaaRAAAAA!!!!!hHAaA!!!, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (DK), 2021-2022. Photographs : David Stjernholm
Exhibition view of Horse Day, Goldsmiths CCA, London (UK), 2021 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP. Photographs: Mark Blower.
Exhibition view of Horse Day, Goldsmiths CCA, London (UK), 2021 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP. Photographs: Mark Blower.
Exhibition view of Yours footsteps are the road for there is no road, Red Brick Museum, Beijing (CN), 2019 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP
Exhibition view of Pour une poignée de Dollars at Blum&Poe gallery, Los Angeles (US), 2019 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP, courtesy of the artist and Blum&Poe, Los Angeles/New-York/Tokyo. Photographs: Makenzie Goodman
Exhibition view of Mohamed Bourouissa: Horse Day at Ryerson Image Center, Toronto (CA) © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP. Photographs: Larissa Issler
Exhibition view of Urban Riders at Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris (FR), 2018 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP. Photographs: Lucia Thomé
Exhibition view of the 10th Biennal of Liverpool at FACT, Liverpool (UK), 2018 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP
Exhibition view of Once upon a time… The Western. A new frontier in Art and Film at Museum of Fine Art of Montreal, Montreal (CA), 2018 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP
Exhibition view of Urban Riders at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (US), 2017 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP
Exhibition view of Mohamed Bourouissa: Horse Day at Stedelikj Museum, Amsterdam (NL), 2016 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP
Exhibition view of Mohamed Bourouissa: Horse Day at Stedelikj Museum, Amsterdam (NL), 2016 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP
Exhibition view of Black Cowboy at The Studio Museum, New-York City (US), 2016 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP. Photographs: Adam Reich
Exhibition view of La vie moderne for the 13th Biennal of Lyon, Lyon (FR), 2015 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP. Photographs: Blaise Adilon
Exhibition view of Hustling at gallery kamel mennour, Paris (FR), 2015 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP. Photographs: Julie Joubert
Exhibition view of Mohamed Bourouissa at Haus der Kunst, München (DE), 2014 © Mohamed Bourouissa ADAGP