Artists statement

Paradox is important in my work. I’m drawn to oppositional forces and attracted to counterpoint. I find examples of contradiction wherever I look in the western suburbs. I love living in the west but hate breathing the air. I love the urban landscape and the shapes and colours, but hate the hum of traffic. I love the view from the bridge but always remember the tragedy that has befallen it.

Historical information

Needlepoint artist Jessie Deane moved to Yarraville twenty years ago, when she became inspired to produce tapestries of her local environment. Having studied woven textiles at university, Deane turned to the intricate process of needlepoint to depict familiar landmarks in Melbourne’s West. Using soft and colourful thread, Deane imbues life and beauty into unnoticed and unloved urban industrial landscapes. In 2023 Deane won Footscray Art Prize’s Local Acquisition award with her submission, The Big Build. By using needlepoint to depict the masculine world of industry, Deane subverts textile’s feminine associations.

Physical description

This piece captures the 250-tonne green gantry crane that lived on Whitehall Street during the West Gate Tunnell construction. Using thousands of tiny stiches, this tightly cropped textile captures the gantry’s unyielding presence and monumental scale against a looming night sky. Though seemingly monochromatic, the work incorporates a rich palette of coloured threads to replicate the sense of illumination cast by the crane’s fluorescent lights.