Gippsland artist Melanie Caple has been commissioned to develop permanent public artworks for Bunyip and Longwarry stations as part of the Gippsland Line Upgrade.
Melanie is developing two artworks, one for each upgraded station, that will be imprinted onto custom-designed, perforated aluminium sheeting, also known as pic perf.
Melanie works from a studio at Berrys Creek, near Mirboo North, and grew up on a dairy farm at Nereena, near Leongatha.
The aluminium sheeting will clad the balustrades for accessible pedestrian ramps and stair entrances to the new platforms at each station.
The artworks celebrate the local native flora and fauna, with Melanie also considering the surrounding town, heritage and community elements in her designs.
“It’s amazing as a Gippslander, being able to create something that’s so inspired by the place where the artworks are going to be situated,” she said.
“It’s been a really lovely opportunity, being able to think about place and think about myself as an artist and leave a legacy for people to love and enjoy and experience from here on in.
“Being able to see the morning and afternoon commuters on that line, it’s such a big part of Gippslanders’ lives being able to access that train line.”
Further opportunities to integrate creative artwork into the designs for upgrades to Morwell and Traralgon stations are being explored in collaboration with the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation.
The Gippsland Line Upgrade will enable more services between Traralgon and Melbourne between the peaks and more reliable services on the Gippsland Line, while boosting the local economy and creating more than 500 jobs.
Bunyip and Longwarry stations are being upgraded to feature second platforms to enable more frequent and reliable journeys, and accessibility and amenity improvements for better passenger journeys.
The project is being delivered as part of the Australian and Victorian Governments $4 billion Regional Rail Revival program, which is upgrading every regional passenger rail line in Victoria and creating 3000 jobs.
More information on the project can be found at regionalrailrevival.vic.gov.au/gippsland
