Dear Gladys
In the lead-up to the NSW election in March 2019 large hand-written letters to premier Gladys Berejiklian and opposition leader Michael Daley appeared on post-holding boxes across Sydney’s inner west. The letters were inspired by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and a rising tide of protest by schoolchildren across Australia, beseeching our leaders to take heed of ‘the science’ when making fossil-fuelled, cataclysmic and unsustainable decisions about the future of the biosphere.
STOP WestCONnex sticker + indelible marker on butcher’s paper, 84 x 60 cm
Annandale Street, Annandale Beattie Street, Rozelle Louisa Road, Birchgrove Booth Street, Annandale
In loving memory of our dear Callan Street neighbour, mate and fearless accomplice John ‘Toddy’ Todhunter (1951-2020), who was ALWAYS THERE.
Within days of appearing on the streets, one Dear Gladys letter featured in Democratic Engagement, a collaborative exhibition by print artists Evan Pank and Chloe Granato-sing at Articulate project space in Leichhardt. Above is a detail from their large-scale wall-collage exploring ‘the politics in NSW and controversy surrounding the Liberal government and premier. WestCONnex, light rail, pill testing and lock outs are just a few of the many issues surrounding Sydney and NSW and the artists … attempt to dive into all of it.’