Media Release                                                                                         26 March 2009

 

 

 

 'Outback Dream' - the lure of the Black Opal' 

 

Lucy Di Paolo, a suburban news photographer journeyed to Lightning Ridge in north west New South Wales , where she got to know the locals, and fulfilled her mother's last wish.
 
Her exhibition includes some 42 photographs and prints of her journey and also features a 30 minute documentary filmed by Lucy on the people of Lightning Ridge.

 

The exhibition is currently on at Fortyfive Downstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne until Sunday 29th March 2009. The exhibition will then travel to Lightning Ridge opening on Good Friday at the Lightning Ridge Bowling Club. 

My mother, Marisol Torres, was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1944. When she was still a teenager, accompanied by her two younger sisters and their parents, she came to Australia in the early 1960s like so many other immigrants. Her family could have returned home after two years, but by then they loved the Australian way of life, its open spaces, gardens and beaches. They decided to stay. Marisol married at 21 and had two children - my brother Phil and me.
 
After 27 years, however, my parents' marriage ended. Marisol went in search of a more meaningful life. In Melbourne, she joined the Waverley Gem Club, where she loved the social companionship and her study of lapidary (the cutting, polishing and engraving of stones). Her fascination with opals, the gemstones popular with tourists, took her to the outback NSW town of Lightning Ridge, 355km north of Dubbo. She loved the freedom 'the Ridge' offered, and, for $2000, bought a small campsite that included a used caravan and a corrugated iron shed.
 
The change of lifestyle was a soothing balm: she was closer to nature, and had a chance to find black opals and make some money. She loved waking up in the morning and seeing kangaroos around her camp.
 

Website: www.lucydipaolo.com

Media Enquiries:
Lucy Di Paolo Mobile: 0404 869 659 
Ron Smith  Corporate Media Communications Mobile: 0417 329 201 
 

  'An old Humpy at Lightning Ridge'