Page 23 - OSG: Georgea Blakey: Carousel

‘Throughout the year, especially at the big meets like Cheltenham,
I often chuckle when the commentators and press warn us to

“Beware of the Celtic Raiders!”.

This phrase conjures images of Viking hoards hurtling towards the

shores of Britain to conquer the land and claim it’s riches. I decided
to depict my own spin on this ancient scene, instead portraying

the endlessly talented Irish horses and their connections galloping
towards British courses to claim prestige and prize money!

Inspired by The Book of Kells which I visited at its home in Dublin
last summer, I created the body of the horse out of my own unique
take on Celtic knot work.

The body of the jockey was made from a crumpled old ‘punt’ note,
with his sleeves made from Aran jumpers and his boots from

Guinness coasters. I wanted this very dynamic duo to leap out from
the canvas, so the horse and rider emerge from scattered pages

from Ulysses, arguably one of Ireland’s most famous works
of literature.