R  O  N  E  –  T  I  M  E

212

Venue: Flinders Street Station
Dates: 28/10/2022 – 23/04/2023

We (my wife and I) recently had the opportunity to visit Melbourne for a quick getaway. Melbourne is 653 kilometres south-east of Adelaide by air, with a flight time of about 70 minutes.

The Rome Time exhibit and, of course, seeing my in-laws were the highlights of this trip. 😀

Rone (aka Tyrone Wright) is a Melbourne-based Australian street artist. He has been creating captivating art installations in abandoned buildings since 2016.

This time, Rone has taken over one of Melbourne’s most recognisable structures, the abandoned upper level of Flinders Street Railway Station.

 With Time, his most recent artwork, Rone explores the coming together of beauty and decay.

“For me it was a response to the space … It’s something that felt like it should’ve always been here, which has been exaggerated in a fictionalised way, as an imagined history.” – Rone

We arrived at Flinders Street Station with our online tickets ready. A door at 273 Flinders Street provided access. Rather than taking the stairs, we took the elevator to the third floor.

As you exit the elevator, you are met with the peeling paint of a once vibrant inner-city office building’s walls. With an overwhelming sense of awe, it transports you to a possible place and time the instant you enter each room.

“The inspiration was the building itself.”   – Rone

The abandonment and decay are obvious; sewing machines are covered in dust and cobwebs, flowers have shrivelled, cups of tea or coffee partially-empty, and unopened letters are scattered across the mail room counter.

“I’m fascinated by this feeling of abandonment, like everyone just walked out one day and never came back. It’s something that I find truly haunting and beautiful.” – Rone

You make your way through each room, which are filled with original and recreated objects of the time, as well as haunting lighting and sound. There are eleven distinct rooms, including a typing pool, the mail room, a pharmacy, and a library from early twentieth-century Melbourne. Each room has one of Rone’s signature female portraits hovering above each scene.

Rone is known for his unnatural images of women’s faces. Teresa Oman, a model, is his defining inspiration this time.

“It’s not important to recognise it is the same person in each of the portraits. They are intended as an emotional conduit … a way [for visitors] to connect with the space.” – Rone

I won’t pretend to know what goes through Rone’s mind when he envisions such an installation, all I know is that I appreciate what he has created – a beautifully haunting piece of art. Having created a sense of calm, we exit the building.