Pink Panther Station, The Cube, Mosman Art Gallery

In collaboration with Simon Wheeldon, Thom Roberts became the architect of his own little metropolis as the pair created a cityscape full of colour, character and style.

Thom Roberts and Simon Wheeldon transformed The Cube at Mosman Art Gallery into the vibrant, multicoloured construction site that is Pink Panther Station from March to May 2023. Having moved on from their artist residencies at The Langston Epping and Brand X City of Sydney Creative Studios, the pair continued their work together to explore Thom’s fascination with Sydney’s architecture, trains and the human-like identities he correlates them with.

“I like working with Simon, I call him Popeye.” said Thom. “It's good to work with Popeye because he helps me to make buildings out of wood. Popeye is like an architect because he makes my cities and buildings and my trains come to life. He brings me lots of shapes and I like to put them together in ‘Thoms Way’.”

For the exhibition, Thom experimented with new materials and ideas. In a way only Thom could, he created an imagined public railway station inspired by Mosman, which he dubs ‘Pink Panther Town’. Thom converted the seemingly ordinary station into a spirited materialisation of his unique worldview, with paintings, three-dimensional urban dioramas and larger-than-life representations of Sydney’s public transportation system.

The installation is backdropped by a video work by Simon Wheeldon, which documents Thom’s exceptional way of moving through and interacting with cities and how this informs his creative process.

“From my point of view, something special happens when working with Thom, as we both jolt each other outside of our respective comfort zones” says Simon. “I've come to appreciate the way that Thom navigates the city at a fast pace and his own way of interacting with it. Hopefully I can document and show something of this through my own contribution.”

Words: Sam Kalis. Photos: Jacquie Manning