Street artist Drapl's secret gallery celebrates Thallon's community icons
A former graffiti artist whose canvas was once coal trains has now secretly painted hidden tributes to local heroes across a tiny Queensland town of just 230 people. Meet his gallery of ‘rogues’.
As a child Travis Vinson, also known as Drapl, often found himself in trouble for sneaking out to paint graffiti.
He jokes that he went from spraying coal trains to, years later, creating artworks for Queensland Rail.
More than a decade on, he has become one of Queensland’s most beloved large-scale street artists.
He is credited with dozens of striking murals, including the Thallon Grain Silos, which he painted alongside fellow artist Joel Fergie, also known as The Zookeeper.
“I have been in trouble for it over the years but now I am giving back to society with what I am doing,” he said.
“I think it is such a big deal to make a landmark in these places; the Silo Art Trail has created the biggest boost in tourism especially through Covid-19 when a lot of people were travelling on the road and the silos are a drawcard.
“We’ve created a lot of these silos and you feel like you’ve really contributed to the area when you leave, it’s leaving a bit of a legacy so we are proud of it.
“I love the country and I love the hardworking men and women, this is my way of giving back and showing respect for what they do.”
Having painted in rural towns across the country, Mr Vinson is no stranger to warm country hospitality.
But he says Thallon, a town of just 230 people, stands tall above the rest.
“I’ve been to a lot of country towns but Thallon just seems particularly friendly, I think because we made such an impact with the silos everyone has a lot of respect for it and it feels like a second home for me,” he said.
“I want to buy a little property in Thallon, I like it because there is not much to do here, for someone who is actively painting every day in Brisbane it is hard for me to slow down and paint my own work.
“I find it a good place for me to retreat and paint canvas as I get older, murals are great but they are hard on your body and there’s a lot of travel involved, Thallon is a great place to unwind.”
Wanting to pay back a town that has done so much for him, he and The Zookeeper started the Thallon’s Rogues Gallery – a series of larger-than-life portraits hidden across the town.
The portraits pay tribute to the locals who have poured their lives, stories and spirit into the community.
The pair has completed seven murals of legendary locals.
They include Elizabeth May “Boyce”, who led the all-female Thallon Fire Brigade in the 1990s, and Robert Johnson “Billy Jack”, who served as SES Control Officer for more than 25 years.
The newest rogue is Wayne Lasserre, who recently retired after 26 years of service to the railway.
“In 2017 the Zookeeper and I painted the silos and we met Collie who was one of the grain workers around town and we took this great photo of him looking up at it,” he said.
“Generally when we paint jobs in country towns we like to leave a hidden piece of artwork somewhere. We were fishing by the Moonie River under the old train bridge and we thought ‘let’s do a cheeky portrait here’.
“We didn’t tell anyone when we left the town and eventually they saw it.
“Since then every time I go through Thallon I paint one of the locals who have lived there a long time or someone who has put some input into the community and made a mark.
Thallon Progress Association project manager Leanne Brosnan distinctly remembers the first time the Brisbane artists arrived in town.
“The first time they came out they did some work with the community to figure out the concept, and these two boys with paint all over their shirts and piercings got out of this tiny little Volkswagen van they’d hired,” she said.
“I met them at the hotel and I thought ‘how is this going to go’.
“But because they are authentic beautiful people they were welcomed into the community and 10 years later they are still coming back.”
She said through their artwork the pair had done more for the town than they could ever know.
“In 2019 Thallon was in the grip of a terrible drought, so Trav and Joel painted the first of the rogues as a gift to the community to lift the spirits and recognise what a great person Col was and how helpful he had been when they rocked into town,” she said.
“I don’t think you can measure the difference they make, what the silo artists have given the community with the artwork and the recognition of the rogues is a real pride in the community. It means a lot that they see Thallon as important and the people as special.
“It puts a smile on the faces of the community and makes them extra proud of their little town.”
