BIO
Peter Drew is an Australian artist whose work is concerned with memory, nationalism, masculinity, criminality, brown paper and mythology. He holds a Masters Degree from the Glasgow School of Art and has been exhibited at major arts institutions around Australia, though his most prominent work is installed on city streets. He is best known for his AUSSIE poster series.
For all poster inquires:
hellopeterdrew@gmail.com
Jan Murphy Gallery
486 Brunswick Street
Post Office Box 2251
Fortitude Valley Qld 4006 Australia
janmurphygallery.com.au
Peter Walker Fine Art
101 Walkerville Terrace
PO Box 3160
Norwood, South Australia 5067
www.peterwalker.com.au
F.A.Q.
Is it illegal to stick up posters?
Yes. If you’re caught by police you’ll probably receive a fine. I’ve been fined three time; once in SA, once in NSW and once in the ACT.
What sort of glue do you use?
Wheat-paste. 1 part flour, 5 parts water. Stir until homogenous and heat until gelatinous.
Who are the people in the Aussie posters?
They are people who lived in Australia and were made to apply for exemptions to the dictation test which was a function of the White Australia Policy. The exemption allowed them to leave Australia and return without being racially excluded. All of the photographs are from the National Archive or Australia.
What about the descendants of the people in the Aussie posters?
I’m often in contact with descendants, some of whom live in Australia but many live overseas. Some of the family trees are enormous and spread over several continents. While it might not be possible to contact all the descendants, we can still try. If you think you might be a descendant, or know someone who might be, please get in touch. I’m always happy to provide hi-res copies of the original documents so we can attempt to fill in the blanks.
* If any family member have reservations in regards to the posters being posted up illegally (as has happened in the past) that aspect is easily avoided without the image losing public visibility.
What do the Aussie posters mean?
Ultimately the posters are an opportunity for people on the street to identify with the people in the posters. When we gaze upon the other and feel their gaze returned, we recognise oneself within the other and, for a moment, all boundaries dissolve. That’s my aim.
However, I’m happy for people to read the posters as they wish. On the one hand they speak to the aspirational ideal of the nation state as equaliser and unifier. On the other hand they expose the legacy of racial prejudice which compromises that ideal. But really these academic notions are secondary, and often offer little more than a means of avoiding feeling. Primarily I hope the posters foster human connection through the image itself. In this sense, I believe in the primacy of art. At its best, art gives us a fleeting chance to strip the world of its moral and ethical illusions and reveal our naked vulnerability, and brutality. In reality there is no such thing as ‘Aussie’. It’s just another fig leaf.