"AUSSIE"- Works by Peter Drew

Salisbury Community Hub - John Harvey Community Hall

27 February - 26 March 2023

Peter Drew is an Australian artist whose work is concerned with memory, nationalism, criminality, brown paper and mythology. Peter has exhibited at many major arts institutions around Australia, though his most prominent work is installed on city streets. He is best known for his AUSSIE poster series. These posters are of 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.

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

Peter Drew

Please click on the link Peter Drew video

Please click on the link Interview with Peter Drew