Peter Drew

Photography by Morgan Sette

“I enjoy examining our collective identities and my aim is always to emphasise the connections that bind us, rather than the fractures that divide us.”

Well known for his ‘Aussie’ posters installed on city streets across Australia, Drew’s forthcoming exhibition ‘Flags 2’, features 14 Australian flags, hand-sewn to government specifications and then ripped, cut, torn and painted with signs of conflict. Found in the National Archive, the portraits depicted are of people who applied for government exemptions to the White Australia Policy, enabling them to travel abroad and return to Australia without fear of exclusion. Once tiny and hidden, these black and white portraits are given a bold presence and a reverent monumentality.

Born in Adelaide (1983), Drew studied Psychology and Philosophy, then Art History at the University of Adelaide before doing his Masters at the Glasgow School of Art. 

His work is held in major public institutions including the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of South Australia, QAGOMA, State Library of New South Wales and the Victorian Immigration Museum.

Download CV