The Standout 2012/24 by Blak Douglas

‘The Standout’ is a gateway public artwork at Campbelltown Railway Station by street art icon and Archibald winner Blak Douglas. ‘The Standout’ pays homage to Ancestors, Country and Community. Douglas was first commissioned in 2012 then recommissioned in 2024.

In the first 2012 iteration of The Standout, Douglas transmuted the outlines of severed branches from a locally sourced, fallen gum into a colossal pre-colonial landscape painting across 100+ marine ply boards. By introjecting the iconic shapes of the Australian gum tree and the four ceremonial colours of the earth (Red Oxide, Yellow Oxide, Black and White) Douglas sought to establish Connection to Country, to honour the Dharawal Dreamtime Story of the ‘Seven Eucalypts’ and to establish a ‘spiritual’ presence.

The transitory nature of the Railway Station is contrasted by the unmoving standing gum motif; representing the ongoing presence and strength of Dharawal Country, Ancestors and Community. Interspersed amongst the forest of gums is also an occasional ‘standout’, an odd coloured line celebrating difference and giving focus to the marginalised.

During the 2024 revitalisation, in keeping with The Standouts honouring history, the original gum tree motifs were cut out and reinstated across eighty-three galvanised steel panels featuring Blak’s signature contemporary shattered landscape designs. The new designs and intermateriality reflect Douglas’ creative evolution, his ongoing commitment to Campbelltown and, more broadly, the Artists pivitol role in balancing history and imaging the future.