CONEY ISLAND MERMAIDS

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

LUKE RATRAY

A 20 year photographic retrospective of Luke Ratray’s images of

Coney Island’s iconic Mermaid Parade.

Over Two Decades of Photographs From The Coney Island Mermaid Parade to Be Shown at Frenchtown's newest venue The Art Parlour!

Coney Island Mermaids, 1996-2019  represents over 20 years of work by New York native photographer Luke Ratray. Following the successful debut presentation in 2016 at Urban Folk Art® Gallery, The Art Parlour is presenting the latest incarnation of this ongoing series.

This show was on exhibit from August 28th - September 20th, 2020.

Luke Ratray has captured a unique perspective on this annual Brooklyn tradition.Choosing to shoot with film rather than digital media, and focusing on the people instead of the pageantry. The photography works toward taking the subjects out of the gritty, noisy environment of Coney Island and pushes the viewer to consider the individuals inside their costumes."People who invent identities for themselves - even if only for a day - have always fascinated me. When I photographed the Mermaid Parade for the first time, I knew that I found something special. I was attracted to the homemade spirit and revelry of people involving themselves in what may be the last self-made, and largely self-regulated, public performance in New York City. "Since 1996, the effects of the economic development and changes to New York City as a whole, and to Coney Island specifically, loom in the background of these photos like an oncoming storm. In 2006 a graceful, adorned, woman happily poses for a picture, while in the background the first "property for lease" and "for sale" signs are apparent. We catch glimpses of the Surf Hotel, The Bank Building, Denny's ice cream shop, Nick's diner, and the old-school "Shoot 'Em Up" stands along Surf Avenue, that have all been razed. The original Astroland signs and the Astrotower itself, now only exist in these photos.
Returning year after year, it is the undeniable spirit of the participants that create and preserve the diversity, the outrageous, the mirth, merriment, and beauty of classic Coney Island.

AND THEN WE THREW OUR VERY OWN MERMAID PARADE!!