Yale Primary School students will have their art featured at the new-look Thornlie Station as part of a community art initiative for the METRONET Thornlie-Cockburn Link Project.

Thornlie Station will be significantly upgraded as part of the project and a key feature will be a large-scale artwork created by local artists and developed with student input.

With the overall theme of ‘the gardens’, the panoramic artwork will include images of a dream garden and a bush tucker garden.

The artwork concept was created by Fremantle-based artists Arif Satar and Audrey Fernandes-Satar, who worked with the Year 6 students to coordinate their thematic input.

“Gardens are an important space where cultural images and symbols can be visually represented.  The workshops were enthusiastically embraced by the students and we’ve been impressed by the quality of their work,” Arif said.

“It will be impressive, meaningful and colourful artwork to stand the test of time.  These students can visit or use Thornlie Station in years to come and they’ll be able to say they have been a part of its look and feel.”

In exploring the gardens’ concept, the artists worked in close collaboration with Whadjuk Elder Marie Taylor, who also spoke to the students to provide inspiration and explain the importance of plants and gardens in Aboriginal culture.

The artwork will be integrated onto the walls alongside the staircase leading to the station platforms. It will be created through an industrial printing process on compressed fibre cement wall cladding and will range in height from 3-9 metres and stretch more than 20 metres in length.

Yale Primary School art is already represented at Thornlie Station. When the station opened in 2005, school students contributed to the artwork fresco that still features on the internal wall on the northside of the station.

All public art delivered under the METRONET Public Art Strategy aims to create a distinct identity for each station and surrounds, making enjoyable areas for local communities while affording opportunities for emerging and WA established artists.