I have to go see a man about a horse | Ek moet ‘n man oor ‘n perd gaan sien | Kufuneka ndiyokubona indoda malunga nehashe

The title derives from the play Flying Scud by Dion Boucicault, in which a character breezes past a difficult situation saying,” Excuse me Mr Quail, I can’t stop; I’ve got to see a man about a dog.” The colloquialism has become a popular excuse for absenting oneself from company. The sculptures allow the person sitting on the bench to turn his/her back upon it, or get up and walk away. A confrontation arises between the classical portrait and the black horses, relating to a static/sitting and kinetic/walking duality.

Die Engelse titel verwys na die toneelstuk Flying Scud deur Dion Boucicault waar die karakter uit ‘n moeilike situasie ontsnap deur te sê dat hy ‘n man oor ‘n hond moet gaan sien. Die geselstaalterm het ‘n gewilde voorwendsel geword om jouself uit geselskap te verskoon. Die beelde gee die persoon wat op die bankie sit die geleentheid om sy/haar rug daarop te draai of op te staan en weg te stap. Daar is ‘n konfrontasie tussen die klassieke portret en die perde vanwee die statiese/sittende element teenoor die bewegingsenergie.

Isihloko esizuzwe kumdlalo obizwa ngokuba yiFlying Scud (1866) obhalwe nguDion Boucicault, apho umdlali edlule eqinisile kwimeko enzima esithi, “Ndixolele Mnu Qual, andikwazi kulinda; kunyanzelekile ukuba ndibone le ndoda malunga nenja.” Le ntetho iqhelekileyo ibe sisizathu esidumileyo sokuzimela komntu angabikho kwabanye abantu. Isihloko sinika esi situlo igunya elithile, imifanekiso ekroliweyo ivumela umntu ohleli kwesi situlo ukuba asinikele umva okanye asuke nje asukume aze ahambe. Ngaxesha nye ungquzulwano luyavela phakathi kodidi lomfanekiso womntu ozotyiweyo namahashe amnyama, olunxulumene nokuhlala ndaweni nye nokuhamba kunye.