By Louise Karch
Looking for something to do at twilight? Ever been to a lightbox gallery?
Urban Threads is an exhibition currently at The Outside Gallery by Newport artist Cara Jones. A photographer who celebrates the west’s industrial heritage, Jones uses her lens to honour the hidden beauty of transportation and commerce.
Known as ‘architectural dreamings’, Jones’ artwork re-imagines shipping containers, burnt out cars, abandoned commercial buildings and decaying structures to celebrate their history.
Fascinated by our region’s role in moving products and people, one of the show’s collections features The Newport Railway Workshops. A heritage-listed site and home to Steamrail Victoria, it was formerly one of Victoria’s largest employers with over 5000 workers.
Between its sheds, Jones found stories. One was the Texas Eagle. Used in the movie Ghost Rider, this L-class electric locomotive was transformed from its usual Vic Railways blue and gold to America’s red, white, and blue complete with a Texan five-point star.
Alongside the railway workshops series, seven additional artworks reveal the surprising artistry of shipping containers, Bradmill’s former textile factory and the West Gate Bridge.
‘I want people to be proud of our inner west’s industrial landscape and see their surroundings in a new way and make their own art,’ says Jones.
Urban Threads is on nightly until November 2023 and the artist is hosting a special tour on Friday 6:30pm August 25th. Register at https://bit.ly/UrbanThreadsArtistTour.
The Outside Gallery is a lightbox gallery nestled between the Newport Social Club (formerly Seagulls Nest) and The Newport Bowls Club at the https://bit.ly/TheOutsideGallery
If you would like to contact Cara about an artwork for your home or business
email cj@carajonesart.com
