Peter Waples-Crowe (Ngarigo)was born in Marrickville, NSW. Peter lives and works in Melbourne. Working across drawing, collage, sculpture and moving image, Peter’s practice is largely based on personal experiences as influenced by his adoption and reconnection with his Ngarigo heritage, and over 25 years’ experience as a community health worker within Aboriginal and LGBTQIA2+ health. His work is a deep commentary on the world as a contested site for his multiple identities.
Heavily used throughout his work are depictions of Dingoes, a totemic figure and an analogy of survival for queer outsiders.
Queer PHOTO is a first of its kind collaboration – comprising artist commissions of large-scale outdoor artworks, gallery exhibitions and an interactive public performance program by local and international artists taking place in Footscray, Newport and Werribee from 27 January – 24 March 2024, across both Midsumma Festival and PHOTO 2024 International Festival of Photography.
Featuring 17 artists, 14 exhibitions, 30 interactive events and 7 locations, Queer PHOTO is a program transforming iconic venues and the streets of the West into a gallery of accessible and highly visible visual artworks from LGBTQIA+ artists.
Peter Waples-Crowe is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores the intersection of an Indigenous queer identity, spirituality and Australia’s ongoing colonisation.
Influenced by his adoption and later reconnection with his Ngarigo heritage, Waples-Crowe’s art is grounded in his first-person perspective and explores multiple possible identities.