Melbourne street artist Rone has taken over the iconic Flinders Street Station in a new, immersive installation.
On until 23 April 2023, the ambitious building takeover called “Time” sees eleven rooms across the hidden upper levels and ballroom of Flinders Street Station transformed into a mid-century time capsule.
Time honours the blue-collar workers of industrial post-WWII-era Melbourne, who passed through the station each day to work in nearby factories, offices and shops throughout the city. Rone used photo references from across the decades to piece together a vision for each room – a typing pool, a library, an art room, classroom and more.
“There is so much detail in each room you could never see it all in one visit,” said Rone. “The aim is for audiences to be unsure where the artwork ends and where the original building starts. I like the idea that someone could walk in here and think, ‘He’s just done a painting on a wall,’ and that everything else they see is a legitimate, original part of the building. And perhaps they’ll think it’s kind of disrespectful that I’ve done that, that I’ve disturbed this space,” he continued.
“For me, that’s the ultimate end-goal – it means it has worked.”
The Newsagency, Time exhibition, Flinders Street Station.
Image: Rone
Rone worked with sound composer Nick Batterham, set builder director Callum Preston, set decorator Carly Spooner as well as a team of more than 120 people to bring the exhibition to life.
Rone also worked with Godrey Hirst and GH Commercial on the flooring selection seen within the exhibition. Rone and GH Commercial had previously worked together on Rone in Geelong (2021) and GH Commercial did not hesitate to collaborate again on this huge project. Using GH Commercial’s Designer Jet technology, Rone was able to achieve the pattern, colour and texture desired to represent the spirit of Melbourne’s industrial past.
“For literally years we were working on this project in secret. I did want to reach out to Godfrey Hirst but I was too scared to promise anything, because I knew as soon as I started telling anyone, it’s going to fall over. And so slowly and slowly, we kept persisting on this project and it eventually came to life,” Rone said.
“We’re so grateful to have had their support for this project. We somewhat destroyed some of their brand new product so that it felt authentic and part of the building – and they were very good about it.”
Source: Architecture - architectureau
