HORSES, MOTION & MUYBRIDGE with The Community Brain

These sculptures are modelled on the famous series of photographs taken in 1878 by pioneering local photographer Eadweard Muybridge, which proved that a galloping horse has all four hooves off the ground simultaneously.

The photographs were originally commissioned by former Governor of California Leland Stanford, a businessman and race-horse owner who wanted to prove his own theories on horse gaits. Whilst Muybridge’s pictures did show that all four hooves were indeed off the ground, this was not - as previously thought - when the horses’ legs were extended to the front and back. Instead, it was when the horses’ legs were collected beneath its body; until then, the belief was that horses in mid stride had all four legs stretched in the “flying gallop” (as represented in famous paintings such as Theodore Gericault’s Derby at Epsom). Muybridge’s pictures received international attention, which led him to tour Europe and the United States and earnt him respect and notoriety in both artistic and scientific communities.

Prior to being permanently installed on the central platform at Esher station - where they currently overlook onto Sandown Park Racecourse - four of the seven horses were exhibited at the Hampton Court Garden Festival in 2023.