Summary

Peter Drew is an Adelaide-based, cross-media artist whose street art has raised his profile both as artist and social commentator. The Museum has a number of his artworks in its collection.

The Artist:

Peter Drew is an Adelaide-based, cross-media artist whose street art has raised his profile both as artist and social commentator. He describes his use of public spaces to exhibit his art: 'I like to exhibit my art on the street because public space is a great equaliser, and it's also an ancient forum. 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...' [Peter Drew's website: www.peterdrewarts.com].

The Collection:

The Museum holds four posters from Peter's well-known AUSSIE series, examples of his 'Real Australians' and 'Stop the Boats' works (all acquired in 2016), and three prints/posters from his 2020 Covid 19 'Hugs' series.

These posters have enhanced the Museum's collection of protest material relating to asylum seeker and racism issues, and provide a complex focus for discussions about Australian identity and, in relation to the AUSSIE series, the creative use of archives which some argue may be viewed as an appropriation of images of people from the past to make artistic and political statements.

AUSSIE Series:

The AUSSIE posters series represents a significant and high profile community artist grassroots response to issues relating to refugees, racism and national identity. The posters have been highly visible and provocative interventions on the walls of Australian city streets. The have provoked many positive and negative public responses in the forms of counter-posters and graffiti.

Drew's work has had a national presence, and been interacted with via imitation, graffiti, and layered forms of commentary.

Drew uses historical portrait images of Australians from diverse non-white backgrounds coupled with the word 'AUSSIE' to make a statement about definitions of Australian identity, citizenship and belonging in a contemporary context. Drew states that: 'The objective of my posters was to celebrate some Australians that historically had been forgotten and to celebrate the history of diversity in this country.' [The Age 2/6/2016]

Stop the Boats & Real Australians:

The poster featuring an illustration of a nineteenth century clipper ship, entitled 'Australia Says Stop the Boats! To Avoid Aboriginal Genocide Stop Great Britain's Illegal Migration to Australia,' was produced by Drew in 2016. The project commenced in 2013 as a result of the political rhetoric during the Federal election which frequently referred to 'stopping the (refugee) boats' arriving in Australia.

Drew states that: 'I designed this poster to parody the policy and began installing it around London's east end. After living overseas for almost a year I'd noticed in myself a growing concern towards Australia's conflicted national identity. To put it simply, I wanted to feel proud to be Australian without ignoring the facts.'

The poster featuring the phrase 'Real Australians Say Welcome', was produced by Drew in 2016. The poster is part of his 'Real Australians Say Welcome' poster campaign which he commenced in 2015 by installing one thousand posters around Australia, inspired by the little known second verse of the Australian national anthem that calls upon our 'courage to combine.' Drew's stated aim is to draw attention to the Federal Government's treatment of asylum seekers as well as growing public fear of Australian Muslims.

'Hugs' Covid 19 Series 2020:

The 'Together Soon Enough' ('Hugs' series) posters and prints provides an insight into how artists and communities interacted during the COVID-19 lockdown in Australia. Creative expressions on streets, in driveways, house windows, alleyways, etc by artists and residents have been a common manifestation of community connection during lockdown, with symbols and words of hope a common theme.

This artisitc activity also demonstrates how artists directly tackled the COVID environment and responded to community experiences of islolation, anxiety, pessimism and general mental health issues through creative expression and mass-produced artworks to acquire and share.

Peter Drew's creative motivation is articulated in the following quote from his website: 'I like to exhibit my art on the street because public space is a great equaliser, and an ancient forum. 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 us, rather than the fractures that divide us.'

More Information