Prayer Horse

I said a prayer to become the horse. I said a prayer to the horse. I asked the horse to both hear my prayer, and be the prayer.

2024 - 2025

The Prayer Horse works explore what it means to lose a home — a house, a body, or a state of being.
I am speaking to structural violence and objectification. I use the body to imitate sculpture as a way of hiding in plain sight, a desperate attempt at safety.


The series is anchored by 5 video-performance vignettes (Prayer Horse 1-5), and also includes a short companion video titled Swallow the barn, works on canvas, and small sculptural monuments.

The horse —part of the dominant imagery of Texas— is a gesture towards my birthplace. In Prayer Horse, the horse takes on a religious aspect, representing passage to a land of safety and bodily autonomy (ironically leading away from Texas). In the video works I seek to become the horse through imitation and abstract gesture. I am constructing my own religious myths, rituals, and symbolism.

The soundtrack for the performance works is made up of my own blend of musical notes, a micro paean, and found audio. The collaging of audio loops back to the desire to world build a place of safety.

In a nod to my political desires, the Prayer Horse works are constructed using democratic materials. The works across medium have a homemade and accessible feel. The instruments used for the soundtrack are children’s toys sourced from local supermarkets and street vendors. The drawings featured in the video companion piece Swallow the barn have been made with crayon and marker.

The sculptural works are constructed almost entirely from found materials. These small monuments muse on the idea of the Trojan horse.