The Horse That Grew Wings

The Horse That Grew Wings examines how photography has shifted from a medium that records reality into a force that reorganizes it. The project began during a visit to Xinjiang’s Bayanbulak Grassland, where horses were fitted with artificial wings so tourists could ride them and pose for photographs. The surreal sight of a winged horse revealed how landscapes are increasingly staged to be viewed and photographed. From that moment on, I began observing how contemporary environments are shaped by the expectation of the image.

The work unfolds across four sequences: Script, Construction, Logic, and Infrastructure. Script considers photography as a learned social script in which bodies align, queue, and repeat gestures in recognizable formations. In Construction, attention shifts to spaces shaped for image production, such as installations, performances, staged environments, architectural settings, and lighting arrangements. Logic traces how photographic conventions such as reflection, framing, and elevation begin to take material form within the landscape. Infrastructure turns to the systems that support the circulation and production of images, from roads and cable cars to designated routes, controlled edges, and temporary settlements that gradually settle into the fabric of the terrain.

Across these sequences, I argue that contemporary space is increasingly calibrated for visibility. Landscapes are prepared and stabilized in anticipation of the image. Photography becomes an infrastructural force that embeds its visual grammar into the material organization of the landscape.