Tilt Train Public Art project
Queensland Rail and Arts Queensland’s art+place partnered on this unique project to create the world’s first Tilt Train covered in Indigenous art. Two specialist curatorial groups chose the artists for the first Tilt Train and the second Tilt Train opportunities went through an expression of interest process.
At 301 metres, these are the longest moving 'canvases' of Indigenous art in the world. With the launch of the second Tilt Train on Wednesday 7 September 2011, there are now two Indigenous art Tilt Trains travelling between Roma Street Station and Cairns. The first Tilt Train showcased artwork by Judy Watson and Alick Tipoti, and the second Tilt Train was transformed by Lockhart River artist Josiah Omeenyo on one side and by 24 artists from the Cardwell and Tully regions on the other.
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About the project
Queensland’s cultural fabric is enriched by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who have called these lands and waters home for tens of thousands of years. On its journey north, the Tilt Train travels through traditional Aboriginal lands – home to one of the oldest cultures in the world. Queensland Indigenous artists have made a huge impact on the contemporary art world, winning major awards and taking their art to the world through international exhibitions. Their work is marked by its diversity, innovation and energy – ranging from incredibly detailed prints by Torres Strait Islander artists; to the wildly colourful paintings from BentinckIsland artists; to the savvy, politically-inspired works of urban artists.
Judy Watson, an Aboriginal descendant of the Waanyi people of north-east Queensland, has gained national and international recognition for her work. For the Tilt Train, Watson worked from a set of etchings and screenprints she created when she was artist-in-residence at the University of Queensland’s Heron Island Research Station in 2009. Digital images from the heron island suite (2009/10) of 20 prints fuse environmental data, signalling endangered species and climate change, with aesthetic renditions of natural forms. This challenging imagery, with recurring themes of shells, middens, fossils and termite mounds, reflects the fragile nature of Queensland’s scenic coastline.
Alick Tipoti is from Badu Island in the Torres Strait and is one of the region’s most innovative artists, with work in the QueenslandArtGallery and the National Gallery of Australia. His distinctive works tell stories from the past. Warriors and legendary heroes appear along with weapons and headdresses, masks, drums and other artefacts associated with ritual dance and ceremony. He proudly translates his forefathers’ words using the media of printmaking, painting and pencils, and his artwork for the Tilt Train explores the notion of travel by reflecting the wakes made by different animals as they move. To create the design, Alick drew on his intimate cultural knowledge of the Torres Strait, where paths and tracks of animal movements constitute vital environmental mapping.
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Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre in Cardwell, North Queensland, represents artists from nine Traditional Owner groups – the Nywaigi, Gugu Badhun, Warrgamay, Warungnu, Bandjin, Girramay, Gulnay, Jirrbal and Djiru people who, through honouring their law and culture, are inspired to make artwork which embraces traditional and contemporary concepts. Twenty-four artists from Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre contributed artwork to the Tilt Train. These artists are: Betty Andy, Leonard Andy, Charlotte Beeron, Maureen Beeron, Nancy Beeron, Theresa Beeron, Nancy Cowan, Nephi Denham, Tonya Grant, Rochelle Harries, Clarence Kinjun, Doris Kinjun, Abe Muriata, Alison Murray, Debra Murray, Emily Murray, Ethel Murray, John Murray, Ninney Murray, Phylicia Murray, Sally Murray, Whitney Rassip, Grace Reid and Sarah Rist. The Tilt Train artwork captures the woven and sculpted vessels, illustrated boomerangs, Bagu and clay birds that celebrate the diversity of Indigenous art practices in the Tully and Cardwell regions. The woven and fired clay bicornual vessels, known as Jawun, are unique to the rainforest regions of North Queensland. Indigenous communities in these regions also create firesticks which feature two parts, Jiman (sticks) and Bagu (firestick figures). The Bagu component is traditionally formed in the figure of a mythical man known as Chikka-bunnah.
These unique works show how culturally significant objects, initially created for practical purposes, are being recreated and re-interpreted within a contemporary art context. The personal aesthetic styles of the artists also express how traditional practices are not necessarily inflexible and that there is room for artists to be creative and responsive to the here and now. To learn more about Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre and the artists visit:
Josiah Omeenyo is an Umpila/Kanthanampu man from Lockhart River who is inspired by his traditional lands and culture to create works that reference his enthusiasm for life and what he feels is important. My Mother’s Country is a work that represents the rainforests, mountains, rivers and streams that eventually meet the vibrant and lucid colours of the reef near his own stunning coastal home. Where I Walk and Fish and Where the Salmon Hide also demonstrate his affinity with the sea and his ability to celebrate its abundance through a spectrum of colours that are true to his favourite fishing spots. In contrast to those cool seascapes are the incredibly hot summer lands of Queensland’s top end which Josiah also portrays in Summer Country, about which he says ‘when the country is burnt all the new grass and new vegetations sprouts and flowers blossom’. To see more of Josiah’s work visit Lockhart River Arts: www.lockhartriverart.com.au or Alcaston Gallery: www.alcastongallery.com.au
Art on the tracks fast facts
Each train is 185m, made up of seven carriages and two locomotives, making it Australia’s longest piece of contemporary art. The Tilt Train artwork was created after a three-step process: the artist created original works; they were then photographed and reproduced by a graphic designer; and then a special vinyl wrap was created and applied to the train. The vinyl wrap was heated to 120 degrees to set the adhesive to full-cure strength. It took 100 hours to apply the skin to just one carriage – that makes 700 hours for each Tilt Train! Due to safety requirements, there is no artwork on the nose of the train.
Traditional Owners
The Tilt Train journeys along the east coast of Queensland between Brisbane and Cairns. This is a truly cultural journey which traverses many Aboriginal custodial lands. These lands are a living testimony of the spiritual and custodial connections to country for the various Aboriginal clan and language groups along the Queensland coastline. Arts Queensland provided information about the project to more than 20 individuals or groups representing Indigenous peoples living in coastal areas between Brisbane and Cairns, as part of the Queensland Government’s commitment to working with Traditional Owners.
See the Tilt Train on AQTV
