Poster boy : a memoir of art and politics

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, Peter 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 Peter 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."When you're sneaking around the city at night you feel like a kid again. The seriousness of the world is unmasked as a series of facades, dead objects just waiting to be painted. I was immediately hooked. Out on the street, I could say anything I wanted. So what did I want to say?"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 art is installed on city streets. When you’re sneaking around the city at night you feel like a kid again. The seriousness of the world is unmasked as a series of facades, dead objects just waiting to be painted. I was immediately hooked. Out on the street I could say anything I wanted. So what did I want to say?

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, Peter 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 Peter 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.

‘Peter Drew’s work changes how we see our streets and country, as well as activism and art. Be warned: This galvanising book might propel you to start a movement yourself.’ —Benjamin Law

'An unflinching look at modern Australia, Poster Boy is a tale literally told from the streets. It is a stark story where the villains blend in with those devoted to pushing for change. This book floored me.' —Osher Günsberg

‘To read Poster Boy is to experience the life-enriching idea that one person can make real change. Then wait for the minute, the day, the week, when the afterglow of his story works its magic on your own simple deeds. From little things, big things truly grow.’ —Megan Morton

‘An insightful look into the life and mind of one of Australia's most progressive and forthright artists of our generation.’ —Nick Mitzevich, director of the National Gallery of Australia Ive stuck up thousands of posters across Australia to interrogate our national identity. With each, the response has grown. You might expect I have unshakable convictions about social justice, but I dont. I reject the label activist. So why do what I do? Maybe its time I made sense of my motivations. Artist Peter Drew wanted a better Australia. In 2013, frustrated at the political discussion around asylum seekers, he put up a poster, commenting on Australias offshore detention. What followed was an outpouring of community support, and a national, then global, following for his art. As Peters profile rose, he began to question his beliefs a struggle that led to destructive behaviour and affected his relationships. When compelled to face a painful family legacy, Peter realised that his behaviour and his motivation to make art shared a common thread: his father. Their relationship had been shaped by an outdated Australian machismo a mix of bravado, inadequacy and shame that not only affects sons and their fathers, but informs social relations more broadly, including the way we as a nation treat outsiders. Told with humour, sincerity and an attentive eye, Peters story is both intimate and inclusive, drawing a parallel between our personal relationships and Australias national narratives. This is a book about family and identity, about the lies we tell ourselves and the past we bury. It is an expedition to be a better citizen of his country.