Mathilde Favel

Mathilde Favel
France
Born in 2001
Graduate of Central Saint Martins, London
Lives and works in Paris, France
mathildetfavel@gmail.com
IG @mathildefavel
mathildefavel.com

Horse Show
In a world decentered from social media and technology, Horse Show documents the intricately layered equestrian culture at British country shows, whose continued existence feels remarkable and essential to report.
The selected works trace the journey of women navigating a disciplined world. This discipline, mirroring one’s path to womanhood, reveals the shift from childhood naivety and blind faith in one’s social conditioning to the uncertainty and self-doubt of teenage years, fractionating away from expectations, leading to the becoming of one’s self.
The intensity of competition in girlhood is reflected in the grimacing faces of young female riders, their identities shaped by rules, dress codes and etiquette. The discrete assertions of vulnerable adolescence divulge the inevitable urge to rebel. Ultimately, a bittersweet glimpse into the past offers an innocent memory, recalling the twice-folded, glossy poster tear-outs from magazines that horse girls devour throughout their youth.
Horse Show moves between formality and freedom, restraint and release as an intimate demonstration of growing up within a world bound by rules, and the quiet ways we learn to bend them.