Anthony Lister: Bogan Paradise

Overview

A bogan paradise can be interpreted as all sorts of things. To actual bogans it means servo meat pies with evenly dispersed cheese, babies with creatively misspelled names and living rooms furnished with Buddhist iconography. To Elizabeth Hurley it means getting a huge sapphire ring from a guy who asks his Twitter followers for “sexy” lunch date suggestions. To Brisbane-born street artist Anthony Lister it’s the dark underbelly of our “she’ll be right” Australian culture, one that manifests itself in acts like pissing in public, swearing at the televised footy match and smoking bongs in front of the kids.

Lister’s exhibition Bogan Paradise challenges the positive and negative conceptions of Australian identity, from the innocent consumption of meat pies to the sanctioning of irresponsible and wayward acts. The quintessential Australian larrikin has been the subject of much social commentary and is deeply engrained in our culture — Lister investigates the underside of such a responsibility-free society, bringing DIY tatts and terrible haircuts out of the western suburbs and into an exhausted sex shop in Chinatown. His concern for how the human condition will evolve in an intellectually undemanding society is both comical and frightening, though the huge demand for his works — which often sell out before openings — suggests that there are still plenty of people who like to adorn their walls with stuff that isn’t Buddhist iconography.

* Bogan Paradise opens November 4 and continues by appointment only.