Idle Flies

 

2016

 

Commissioned by Perth Public Art Foundation for Cow Parade Perth, 2016.

 

Fibreglass, enamel, PU resin, glow pigment.
 

I live in Fremantle overlooking the harbour and watch the activities of ships, cranes and commodities like a big theatre. The cow is a fundamental symbol of commerce and I wish
to transform her reclining body into the stage for trade vessel miniatures to play out their
drama.

The vessels swarm over her body like flies. By inverting scale (the cow is life-size, the ships minute) I wish to discuss the parasitic nature of global capitalism on the earth ecosystem.
The vastness of her body, like the vast blue ocean, plays host to the minutiae of human exploits which are intrinsically entwined with living systems.