Peter Drew’s posters are a familiar sight across Australia – his Real Australians Say Welcome and Aussie campaigns took on lives of their own, attaining cult status and starting conversations all over the country. But who made them, and why?
In this irresistible and unexpected memoir, Drew searches for the answers to these questions. He traces the links between his creative and personal lives, and discovers surprising parallels between Australia’s dark, unacknowledged past and the unspoken conflict at the core of his own family.
Packed full of Drew’s memorable images, Poster Boy is an intelligent, funny and brutally honest dive into the stew of individual, family and national identity. It’s about politics and art, and why we need them both. And it’s about making a mark.
“I like to exhibit my art on the street because public space is a great equaliser, and it’s also an ancient forum,” says Drew.
“When you address the public through the street you’re entering into a tradition that emphasises our fundamental freedom of expression, over the value of property… I enjoy examining our collective identities and my aim is always to emphasize the connections that bind up, rather than the fractures that divide us,” he added.
Peter Drew was born in 1983 in Adelaide. He holds a master’s degree from the Glasgow School of Art. His work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of South Australia and the National Gallery of Australia, though his most prominent is installed on city streets.
Poster Boy: A Memoir of Art and Politics is published by Black Inc. Books and available from all leading book retailers including Booktopia. For more information about Peter Drew, visit: www.peterdrewarts.com for details.
Image: Poster Boy: A Memoir of Art and Politics – courtesy of Black Inc. Books