To celebrate, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and City of Sydney today unveiled 40 Years of Love, a vibrant inflatable art installation in the heart of Sydney’s LGBTQI district, Taylor Square.

Designed by Maurice Goldberg and Matthew Aberline, 40 Years of Love is a celebration of 40 years of Mardi Gras and uses symbols to represent the five themes of repression, adversity, freedom, diversity and love.

“We were struggling to describe a singular image to describe the history of Mardi Gras. It’s so varied, political, sexual, and the history of it is so complicated, so rather than trying to find a singular item, we decided to make a microcosm of what Mardi Gras is about – the good stuff, the bad stuff, and the celebration,” Matthew says.

“It’ll be nine metres high at its highest point above the ground,” Maurice adds. “That’s higher than a three-storey building. We want people to notice this – it’s a big, sassy, loud, undeniably in-your-face installation.”