Bright boxes: Jodie Cooper at the traffic signal boxes she painted in Lysterfield . Picture: Gary Sissons
IF you've never taken notice of traffic signal boxes in Knox before, you will now Jodie Cooper has added her magic touch to two in Lysterfield.
Ms Cooper is one of several artists and community groups in the area who have been chosen by Knox Council to decorate 12 boxes.
The task is in conjunction with Urban Smarts Project and the Department of Justice and is another element of the council's graffiti management plan.
Acting community services director David Blair said because the traffic signal boxes were at intersections they were regularly targeted by graffiti vandals.
"This has a real impact on the community by decreasing perceptions of public safety and
making the affected area look unkempt."
Mr Blair said research showed legal murals received little if any graffiti and the boxes would be turned into a piece of permanent artwork.
"The boxes will add life and colour to our city and provide a creative outlet for our city's
artists."
Ms Cooper was allocated two boxes at the corner of Kelletts and Napoleon roads - just near her Lysterfield home and gallery.
"People in the area who know my work will instantly recognise it on the boxes," she said.
The artist began working on her two boxes - called Lysterflight and Lysterflight 2 - last week using a design she had painted before.
"I've incorporated the two boxes into one picture so there is one tree swaying in the wind and the leaves turn into butterflies," she explained.
Community groups Interchange Outer East and Narana Mind, and Bayswater Primary School were also allocated traffic signal boxes to paint.