The latest addition to Victoria's Silo Art Trail has been unveiled in St Arnaud.
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Created by St Arnaud artist Kyle Torney, the work took more than 800 hours to create.
Torney's masterpiece - titled Hope - depicts the gold mining history of the town, particularly the 1800s when gold shaped the town.
After consulting local residents to choose one of four design ideas, Torney completed between 30 and 40 trips up and down the silo each day to ensure the the piece was in proportion from a distance.
Grampians Tourism chief executive Marc Sleeman said the piece showed Torney's exceptional talent.
"The Silo Art Trail is a popular attraction with visitors to the area," he said.
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"With the creation of this new artwork visitors can start the tour at St Arnaud and will help grow tourism to the local town.
"Mr Torney is an exceptionally talented artist and a real advocate for tourism to the area, we feel very lucky to have his work in our region."
Torney is a sixth-generation resident of St Arnaud who has completed a number murals throughout the town.
"Street art really brings the community together through pride which I have found through my murals," he said. "I called the silo art Hope which is reflective of the gold mining period but also resonates with the current climate.
"It's great to be able to create something that will help to increase tourism to the region. St Arnaud is a great place to visit and like all of Victoria has been hit hard but by COVID-19 restrictions."
St Arnaud's silo art - Hope - can be viewed from McMahon Street, St Arnaud.
The Silo Art Trail now stretches from St Arnaud to Rupanyap and beyond.
It started in Yarriambiack Shire in 2015 and includes enormous murals of residents on GrainCorp sites at Brim, Rupanyup, Sheep Hills, Rosebery, Patchewollock, Lascelles and Nullawil.
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New works are in train for Kaniva, Serviceton and Goroke silos.
Since then, painted silos have popped up across Victoria, including Rochester and Colbinabbin, near Bendigo, and east of Sheparton at Devinish, St James and Tungamah.
In 2019, Wimmera Mallee Tourism integrated the existing silos into an augmented reality program, where viewers can hold their smartphones to the silos to see informative animations around them.
The silos were central to a tourism campaign "Unearth Amazing" which aimed to encourage Victorians to visit. The campaign was put on hold when the second Level 3 COVID-19 lockdown was announced.
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