LONELY HORSEMEN
The lonely horsemen is one of Wong Wa's fundamental series, which he presented in many different forms and materials. The lonely horseman myth goes back at the Tao era. It has become, since Cervantes' hero Don Quichotte, one of the world's most known literary myths. Don Quichotte symbol, the daring defender of moral and religious values, vigilante who is trying to enforce justice on earth and who wants to change the world, but really cannot.
An other aspect of Wong Wa's attachment for the lonely horseman comes from a surprising discovery he made on one of his journeys in Europe : he was struck by how many horse statues there were in towns and villages. The horseman, whether he is a king, an emperor or a soldier, commemorates both a defeat and a victory : lost war, found freedom, those statues are here to mark history and leave a trace in posterity. Jeanne of Arc on her horse : ths ymbol of failure since she ended on the stake, Louis XIV his majesty in front of Versailles castle to celebrate his glory, fallen soldiers during World War II and the defeat in Moscow, the statue of emperors at the pinnacle of their power in St Petersburg...
This horseman is the symbol of the western world.
A thousand years from now, we do not know who this hero will be. Blurred faces, unclear identities, there will only remain the image of a man on a horse.