COWPARADE PERTH 2016092_COWS_PARADE_2016_in_situ_LOWres.jpg

Gregory Pryor

Laozi's Cow and the excellence of water


  • Commissioner: Perth Public Art Foundation For The City Of Perth
  • Telethon Beneficiary/Permanent Home: Coming soon


 

Artist Statement

The famous Chinese philosopher Laozi was known to ride around on a cow (specifically an Oxen) and this has been said to represent the wisdom he attained throughout his life. The cow is a powerful animal that has learned to control its wild nature and serve mankind in so many ways and Laozi extolled similar virtues in his famous book the Tao Te Ching or The Way.
Perth is a city that has triumphed in a part of the earth considered too volatile, inhospitable and isolated for so many and it’s recent capital city stature is further confirmation of how  It has overcome these challenges and turned them into virtues and embodied in its success and status as a world  city. The text Gregory uses here from the Tao Te Ching refers to the bifold nature of water – it seems so supple and pliant – even accommodating, yet can create the most powerful and effective force when channelled a particular way.
 

Biography

Gregory Pryor lives in Perth and is currently working as Lecturer in Visual Arts at the Edith Cowan University.


View more of Gregory's work in The Gallery >
 

IMAGE: Gregory Pryor, Laozi's Cow and the excellence of water, 2016. CowParade PERTH. Photographer: Christophe Canato. Image courtesy of City of Perth, Perth Public Art Foundation and Artsource.