This collection of original paintings is centred around editorial and print works created as part of the 2024/25 Philharmonie Luxembourg children’s programme. Drawing inspiration from classics such as The Snow Queen, Robin Hood and Pinocchio, as well as fantasy, play and humour, the illustrations were created as visual components to music, storytelling and musical theatre.

Working creatively from the individual worlds of each production, from its characters and costumes to its instruments, music and age group, each artwork grew through a process of drawing, painting and exploration on paper. The final pieces, painted in solid planes of gouache with final details achieved in pencil crayon, take a contemporary approach to familiar stories and themes, using bold and vibrant colours, simple forms and shapes.

For A World of Wonder, the original works come together outside their original context, bringing together all the characters, creatures and worlds.

Tara Deacon is a South African illustrator, painter and artist whose work explores the simplicity of everyday observations, combining memory and place, both real and imagined. Her compositions are populated with characters influenced by her travels, personal relationships, books and popular culture, bringing a narrative storytelling quality to her work.