This series was pro­du­ced at the hor­se fairs of Apple­by in England and Bal­li­na­sloe in Ire­land bet­ween 2019 and 2024. Some of the­se fairs have exi­sted for more than a cen­tu­ry. Bal­li­na­sloe for exam­ple, whe­re I docu­men­ted the cen­te­na­ry, reflec­ts the lon­ge­vi­ty and impor­tan­ce of the­se gathe­rings.

Each year the­se even­ts bring toge­ther Tra­vel­ler com­mu­ni­ties inclu­ding Gyp­sies, Irish Cobs, Roma and iti­ne­rant groups coming from across the Uni­ted King­dom and Ire­land, some­ti­mes after seve­ral weeks of tra­vel. The­se fairs are a cen­tral moment in their calen­dar, at once eco­no­mic, social and cul­tu­ral.

Beyond the tra­ding of hor­ses, they offer an oppor­tu­ni­ty to reaf­firm a col­lec­ti­ve iden­ti­ty and to sustain dee­ply roo­ted tra­di­tions. Apple­by, often refer­red to as the Gyp­sy Mec­ca, beco­mes the sta­ge for a den­se and sin­gu­lar visual world made of color­ful clo­thing, gold jewel­ry, hor­se acces­so­ries, dome­stic objec­ts and tra­di­tio­nal cara­vans.

The most emble­ma­tic moment is the washing of the hor­ses in the river. Riders of all ages, moun­ted bare­back, wash and pre­sent their hor­ses in front of a den­se cro­wd gathe­red along both river­banks, in a sce­ne that is both ritual and spec­ta­cle.

Throu­gh this series I explo­re dyna­mics of tran­smis­sion, repre­sen­ta­tion and belon­ging within the­se com­mu­ni­ties. In a con­text whe­re noma­dic ways of life are increa­sin­gly chal­len­ged by restric­ti­ve laws, the­se fairs appear as spa­ces of cul­tu­ral resi­stan­ce whe­re tra­di­tions and con­tem­po­ra­ry adap­ta­tions coe­xi­st.