Joseph Mercurio was born in Melbourne and raised in Fremantle, Western Australia.

Following his sister Connie and his brothers into ballet at age six triggered his fascination with dance. He decided to leave the barrel rolls to his brother Paul and moved into the mystical world of backstage. Lighting soon became his passion and he focused his efforts into making it his career. One of his first paid gigs was lighting for Swy Theatre Company where his brother Michael was a founding member and performer.

Joseph moved to Sydney and began working in a wide range of styles in Australia and touring the world extensively.

During his career he has been Lighting Designer on ballet, contemporary dance, drama, events, musical theatre, opera, spectacular and worked extensively in film and TV.

In 1998 with generous support form The Australia Council Joseph attended The British Council International Seminar on Lighting Design. Joseph has an ongoing commitment to professional development, further education and new experiences. Joseph has a Bachelors in Performing Arts (Production), Graduate Certificate in University Teaching, a Masters of Education among other academic qualifications. His university career also includes work as a Course Coordinator for Lighting at Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts, and a position as the Coordinator of Performance Technology and Lecturer in Lighting at the University of Melbourne.

He has collaborated with some of Australia’s leading Choreographers and Directors, including Stephen Page, Angela Chaplin, Graham Murphy, Cameron Menzies, The Australian Ballet, Libby Hill, Sue Healey, Phillip Adams, David Wynen, Natalie Weir, Frances Rings, Antonio Vargas, Fieldworks, Anna Smith, Liz Lea and Libby Hill.

Joseph was Lighting Designer for both the Sydney Olympic Arts Festivals (1996 and 2000) and Lighting Designer (Props) for Closing Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, as well as designing for Bangarra Dance Theatre, Black Swan Theatre Company, DeckChair Theatre Company, Perth International Arts Festival, West Australian Ballet, Victorian Opera, Bunuba Films, TasDance, Corazon de Vaca, Performing Lines and many other companies.

In 2015 Joe's family began a European adventure and moved to Elche in Spain. During his four years there, Joseph was fortunate to light a number of productions for Spanish companies including Ushuaia At Teatro Espanol in Madrid. Expanding beyond Spain, Joseph now works in Shanghai, China.