Aussie (poster)
| Aussie | |
|---|---|
.jpg) "Aussie" poster on the corner of Wynyard and Kent Streets in Sydney | |
| Artist | Peter Drew |
| Year | 2016–present |
| Medium | |
| Subject | Immigration and the White Australia Policy |
| Website | www |
"Aussie" is a series of posters by Australian artist Peter Drew that started in 2016 and is plastered around Australian streets. The "Aussie" poster hinges on themes of immigration and the White Australia Policy.
History and content
[edit]The "Aussie" series of posters started in 2016 with the first containing an image of Muslim hawker Monga Khan, who immigrated to Australia in 1895.[1] The images used to produce these posters are retrieved from the national archives.[2]
As of 2026,[update] Drew says that around 5,000 posters have been plastered across Australian streets, the works have been installed in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide.[3] Drew has not relied on external funding to support the installation of the works.[1] Some of the posters are held in the Art Gallery of NSW and the National Gallery of Victoria.[3]
Drew sends versions of "Aussie" to schools for use as learning tools each January, exploring themes of Australian identity.[3] Schools students have created similar versions to Drew's posters that contain markers of their own identities.[4]
Drew created a special edition poster in 2020 to account for the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia called "Together Soon Enough".[5]
Following immigration protests such as the March for Australia rally in 2025 in which protestors tore down an "Aussie" poster, Drew was inspired to create a poster depicting the protestors pulling down the poster and adding a question mark to the word "Aussie".[6]
Content
[edit]Works have included the faces of a Jewish boy who fought in World War II, the grandfather of a politician, in addition to Khan. Drew was inspired to create the series as a result of incidents including the 2014 Lindt cafe siege, headlines about ISIS, the Coalition's Stop the Boats policy, and attention was shifting to One Nation and Reclaim Australia. All of the people featured in the works were subject to the White Australia Policy.[3]
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References
[edit]- 1 2 Marchese, David (27 April 2026). "Why street artist Peter Drew decided to bring back his 'Aussie' poster series". Triple J Hack. ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 August 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
- ↑ Fuss, Eloise (27 February 2016). "What Is A Real Aussie? Street artist Peter Drew tackles national identity in poster campaign". ABC News. Archived from the original on 14 May 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 O'Brien, Kerrie (16 November 2025). "How this artist is reinventing the idea of an Aussie, one poster at a time". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
- ↑ O'Brien, Kerrie (25 January 2024). "Think you know what a real Aussie looks like? Think again". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
- ↑ "Peter Drew the Artist Behind the Aussie Posters". Inspiring City. 23 August 2020. Archived from the original on 6 January 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
- ↑ Maher, Georgia; Harvey, Josie. "Who gets to be called Aussie? Why these posters are causing another stir — 10 years on". SBS News. Archived from the original on 17 November 2025. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
Further reading
[edit]- Kelsall, Thomas; Bermingham, Kathryn (25 December 2025). "'Aussie' poster in Adelaide vandalised with white supremacist message". ABC News. Archived from the original on 14 May 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
- "Peter Drew's AUSSIES Poster exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum". medianet. 27 August 2026. Archived from the original on 27 August 2026.
- White, Robert (3 February 2026). "Artist slams hijacking iconic 'Aussie' posters with Bondi shooter's image". news.com.au. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
- Shepherd, Tory (20 October 2025). "At anti-immigration marches, Peter Drew spreads his renowned 'Aussie' posters – and waits". Guardian Australia. Archived from the original on 24 February 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
- Lydon, Jane (June 2024). "The idea of 'Aussie': refugees, images & citizenship". Australian Academy of the Humanities. Archived from the original on 9 October 2025. Retrieved 27 August 2026.