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Meet the ECU Visual Arts Lecturer marking space between physical and digital

Monday, 16 October 2023

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  • ECU Visual Arts lecturer and artist Gregory Pryor loads empty periodical boxes onto a trolley at Mount Lawley Library.

    The artistic process is underway for ECU Visual Arts lecturer and artist Gregory Pryor.

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Tucked away in one of ECU’s visual arts studios, hundreds of green periodical boxes are being given a second life after a long tenure at ECU University Library.

What might look like empty receptacles ready for recycling inspired many connections in the mind of accomplished and award-winning visual artist and ECU Lecturer Gregory Pryor.

The trend towards digital publishing, coupled with preparations for the opening of ECU City, have left many periodical boxes empty for the first time.

Spotted during a routine trip to ECU Library, their various shades of green sparked Greg to consider the transition of knowledge and knowledge preservation from physical to digital formats, against a backdrop of his past work concerning Western Australian (WA) botanicals.

Green is a colour Greg knows well from his field work in WA and previous work, which has consistently explored the subtle variations of ‘Australian’ greens.

Under his expert influence the items will evolve into an oversized art installation weaving together multiple themes of transition.

The work will be developed over a period of months on campus.

Greg shared the route he has taken many times to manually shift the boxes to their new location; carefully loading each item onto a trolley before walking them across campus to be categorised and stored.

The artist at work was quick to point out marks from human hands, and the odd label, showing character and history. “They are almost an artwork already.”

He sees his role in this project as a custodian of sorts, tasked with choosing how to accentuate a moment in time.

ECU visual arts students have the chance to observe the process and learn about methods employed to develop ideas and large-scale artwork.

“The visibility of the project by nature of its scale engenders conversation and collaboration between other artists and students at work here, and they can and do contribute,” said Greg.

The details of where the final work will be exhibited will be announced in due course.

If you see Greg pushing his trolley around Mount Lawley Campus, be assured he is in the process of creating something meaningful.

You can view Gregory Pryor’s ECU profile on the ECU website, as well as read about his works online.

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