What Is A Real Aussie? Street artist Peter Drew tackles national identity in poster campaign
Peter Drew puts up a poster as part of his latest project. (Supplied: Peter Drew)
A street artist who raised the profile of immigration issues with his Real Australians Say Welcome campaign is at work again on a new project asking What Is A Real Aussie?
"It's sort of saying to the audience: 'Aussie? Is this what you think?'" artist Peter Drew said.
"Because this is the truth of our history.
"I think art should ask questions and I try to do it in a friendly way."
Drew said he went through the national archives in search of images of past Australians and found images of the cameleers from a century ago.
"The cameleers were camel drivers, mostly from Afghanistan, India and Pakistan and they helped explore the outback and helped establish rail networks," he said.
"They basically ran the outback for 70 years and not many people know they existed.
"The campaign is really based around one guy in particular and his name was Monga Khan."
The Adelaide artist said Khan applied about 100 years ago for an exemption from the white Australia policy.
"I thought this guy's portrait was particularly heroic ... he can become a symbol for all those people who had to go through that process. I'd really like to make him famous," he said.
Bowie art creator supports latest Aussie project
Drew enlisted another Adelaide-raised artist to contribute to his latest poster campaign, James Cochran, who recently made headlines for his David Bowie wall art in Britain, which became a shrine to the star after his death.
James Cochran works on his portrait of Monga Khan with aerosol paint. (ABC)
Cochran said he enjoyed doing a Monga Khan portrait using aerosol paint cans.
"All we've got is this black and white image and what I guess I can read from his image is his attitude, his proud poise for the photograph — that's what I'm hoping to convey," he said.
"I like doing art collaborations, because you bring ideas together and you end up with a whole different result.
"I like to work with these themes on Australian identity — what we are, what we were, where we're going — it's good to be part of the project."
Drew will visit all the capital cities around Australia to put up his latest posters.
He said it was always satisfying work.
"I like to get out there and get my hands dirty, it's that sort of adventure," he said.
"Feeling stuffed at the end of the day is something I value."