The first of four Luna Parks in Australia, Melbourne’s amusement park, was opened one hundred years ago this December. Showman J D Williams developed Luna Park with the three Phillips brothers (from Washington State, USA). The park opened with great success and has remained popular since.
Cathy has had a life long fascination with Luna Park. You learn that pretty quickly when you get to talking with her. Luna Park is not just a place to Cathy grew up with. The amusement park is a place that has grown to hold and embody Cathy’s passions, dreams and rich fantasy life.
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| Cathy with one of her paintings for The Great un Reveal |
There is a carousel in Washington, that same state the Philip’s brothers hailed from, that we three sisters grew up riding. As we spun around on it during the endless summers, it began to twine together our family memories and stories. Like Cathy, our love of theme parks is born in their ability to metaphorically hold life’s joys, excitement, fears and mysteries.
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| Cathy and Esther after a long day of painting! |
Which leads me to speak of Finucane & Smith’s Carnival of Mysteries premiered in the 2010 Melbourne Arts Festival. Two years ago, we were working on the production designers for the shows set. It was with great excitement that Moira Finucane and Jackie Smith selected Cathy to paint one of the panels for their Tent of Miracles. We were over joyed at the selection because it was the perfect meeting of creative minds.
When we began working on this project we were all well aware that it was the centenary anniversary of Luna Park. And I don’t mind telling you our dear readers that we were delighted with the coincidences of the three American siblings from Washington! It has been great fodder for our imaginations. We’ve even began dreaming that Cathy is the great showman those three brothers joined up with. And in doing so we created ‘Our little Luna’.
Come visit the gallery TODAY for the opening of The Great un Reveal!
