Overview
The 2019 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade is fast approaching, with Darlinghurst's Oxford Street set to erupt in a colourful celebration of LGBTQI+ culture and communities, as it has for more than four decades. But Australia is home to more than one Oxford Street — and, this year, seven other roadways with the same moniker are getting into the Mardi Gras spirit, all thanks to a series of glorious rainbow sculptures.
In the New South Wales town of Mittagong, Deep Lead in Victoria, Rockhampton in Queensland, East Bunbury in Western Australia, Port Pirie in South Australia, Berry Springs in the Northern Territory and East Launceston in Tasmania, eye-catching new Oxford Street signs have popped up. Each bears the street's name, of course; however the designs vary otherwise. A rainbow branching out of a puddle, a giant heart pierced by an arrow, a pink-frosted cupcake, twin flamingos, a unicorn and a giant stiletto all feature across the bespoke signs, as does a cockatoo and akubra-adorned clothes line named 'I'm Spinning Around' after the Kylie Minogue song you now have stuck in your head.
The overall exhibition has been dubbed Signs of Love, and it's spearheaded by ANZ as part of their ongoing association with Mardi Gras. For those who'd like to take a gander at the installations but won't find themselves in their vicinity, they'll also be available to view on Google Street View from Wednesday, February 27.
While only seven Oxford Streets around the country have had a makeover, an eighth sculpture is also on display at Bondi Beach in Sydney. And while it isn't as brightly coloured as its counterparts, it points to 123 Oxford Streets across the nation.
Oxford Street sign titles and locations:
- New South Wales – 'Signs of Love', Bondi Park, Campbell Parade, Bondi.
- New South Wales – 'Eternal Flame', Oxford Street (corner Bourne Close), Mittagong.
- Victoria – 'Coming Out', Oxford Street (corner Battery Rd), Deep Lead.
- Queensland – 'Pink FlaminGo-Go', Oxford Street (corner Talford Street), Rockhampton.
- Tasmania – 'Love is Love', Oxford Street (corner Abbott Street), East Launceston.
- Western Australia – 'I'm Spinning Around', Oxford Street (Austral Parade), East Bunbury.
- South Australia – 'Turn the Party', Port Pirie Regional Tourism and Arts Centre.
- Northern Territory – 'We're Not in Sydney Toto', Oxford Road (corner Cox Peninsula Road), Berry Springs.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade takes place on Saturday, March 2 in Oxford Street and surrounding areas, Darlinghurst.