I was commissioned to make work in response to a site at Great Ayton in North Yorkshire. Great Ayton's name derives from Old English Ea-tun, meaning 'river farm'.. The brief was left open for me to interpret but the idea would be to leave a work(s) on site for a public audience consisting mainly of visitors to the various holiday lets available. The owner was keen to make site responsive art a key component of the experience for visitors and was approaching other artists including Kenny Hunter and Andy Goldsworthy.

During one of several site visits I found a horseshoe which became a key starting point for my research. The found object presented itself like a question through which I discovered that the converted holiday lets were former stables. I was interested in the horseshoe as an important symbol with different meanings: Firstly as historical conduit between human and animal - especially in relation to labour and land from which the term horsepower is derived - measuring mechanical power. Secondly as a magic object symbolising luck particularly when displayed in the home where it is supposed to ward off evil.

A series of 6 framed drawings (horseshoes using horseshoe ink) will be displayed in the converted stable lets. They play with the traditional horseshoe display often appearing in the domestic environment. The horseshoe represents the idea of magic and myth whilst acknowledging the actual history of the site and of the buildings, thereby making visible the hidden history of labour and of working the land and animals. This project fits within a series of projects exploring the idea of the Shadow Object - such as 'Pauls Turn'. (Radar 10382)