New street art for Horsham’s Jos Lane

Horsham Rural City Council has recently engaged Grampians-based artist Stacey Rees to create a street art mural for Jos Lane at the top end of Firebrace Street.

Jos Lane is a thoroughfare between the rear car park area, local businesses and take-away food outlets.

Ms Rees’ proposal was chosen by the Public Art Advisory Committee from a public Expression of Interest process in the middle of this year.

Her mural is inspired by the landscape capturing the ‘endless’ Wimmera horizontal line. As an abstract interpretation, it will reference the natural and abundantly rich swamplands of her childhood around Nurrabiel, Telangatuk and Toolondo.

Ms Rees expressed a hope that the work would speak to those who identified strongly with the Wimmera.

“Most people who live and work in and around Horsham have strong connections with the surrounding Wimmera landscapes and will hopefully associate with the mural, as it could very well remind them of a special place in the region that they too, can identify with,” she said.

The mural will be in conversation with the ‘aerial’ installation located on the opposite wall which is a raven’s-eye view of the vast sky and plains of the Wimmera.

‘Aerial’ was created by Banyena artist Donal Molloy-Drum in conjunction with the students of the McKenzie Creek Campus in 2009.

Street Art Murals represents an extension for Ms Rees’ studio art practice and she is excited by the opportunity to respond to a much bigger public canvas.

The artist will work after hours and weekends through December, hoping to complete the mural by Christmas.

The public should note that access to Jos Lane will be closed at the Firebrace Street end after hours on Friday evening and during the day over weekends until 20 December 2020.

/Public Release. View in full here.