Artist Condemns Copycat Posters Glorifying Alleged Bondi Beach Shooter
Renowned artist Peter Drew has launched a scathing critique against copycats who appropriated his distinctive design to create posters featuring alleged Bondi Beach shooter Naveed Akram alongside the word 'Aussie'. The controversial posters, which appeared across Melbourne, have sparked widespread condemnation and a police investigation.
The Controversial Posters and Their Origin
Approximately forty posters emerged in Melbourne featuring Akram's image with the bold, capitalised word 'Aussie', directly copying the iconic aesthetic of Peter Drew's celebrated work. Akram currently faces fifty-nine serious charges, including fifteen counts of murder and forty counts of wounding with intent to murder, following the alleged shooting incident during a Hanukkah celebration on December fourteenth.
Peter Drew, aged forty-two, gained national recognition through his 2016 poster series that highlighted diverse figures who embody Australian identity, created as a direct response to rising anti-immigration sentiment. His original works featured historical figures such as Afghan cameleer Monga Khan, a young Jewish boy, and more recently, the great-grandfather of New South Wales Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh.
Revealing the Copycat Creator
On Tuesday, the individual behind the copycat posters was identified as far-right influencer Hugo Lennon, also known online as 'Auspill'. Lennon is the grandson of Tony Lennon, one of Australia's wealthiest property developers and former chairman of Peet Limited, a major real estate development corporation.
'When I issued a challenge to anyone stupid enough to put their name to the posters I didn't think that trick would actually work,' Mr Drew told Daily Mail. 'I feel relieved to know the posters weren't made by anyone serious. Those boys lack spirit. That's their real problem. AUSSIE is bigger than any ideology.'
The artist expressed profound disappointment, stating: 'My honest opinion; it's just sad. These boys have their whole lives ahead of them but they're throwing it all away for online clout. I wish they had an older brother to shake some sense into them and say "Maybe don't make posters glorifying terrorists".'
Lennon's Justification and Video Revelation
Lennon revealed his involvement through a rambling, twenty-two-minute video in which he attempted to justify his actions. He claimed that Drew's original posters, which celebrate Australians from diverse ethnic backgrounds, conveyed the message that anyone with 'two eyes and a mouth' could be considered a citizen.
According to Lennon's caption accompanying the video: 'The purpose of [my] project is to expose a contradiction in contemporary discourse around national identity.' This included challenging what he described as 'the claim that Australianness is purely civic, infinitely fluid, and detached from history, continuity, or peoplehood.'
Lennon further argued: 'Rather than arguing that point abstractly, the posters place that doctrine under pressure by running it to its logical limits and observing where audiences instinctively draw lines they often refuse to articulate.'
Community Outrage and Police Response
Dr Dvir Abramovich, chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, delivered a powerful condemnation of the posters, telling Daily Mail: 'What Hugo Lennon did is violence without a weapon. Taking the face of a mass murderer and pasting it onto Melbourne’s walls drags blood back onto the pavement. It reopens graves. It tells grieving families that their loss is a joke, a meme, a stunt for online applause.'
Dr Abramovich added: 'This is how extremism works in daylight. First you sanitise the killer. Then you stylise the killer.'
Victoria Police have confirmed they have launched a comprehensive investigation after 'several posters of concern' appeared in Richmond, the Central Business District, and surrounding areas in January. Officers have reviewed available CCTV footage and are conducting ongoing enquiries related to billposting offences and potentially more serious violations. Authorities have also liaised with Melbourne City Council regarding the incidents.
Background of the Copycat Creator
Hugo Lennon's grandfather, Tony Lennon, retired last year from his position as chairman of Peet Limited but retains a substantial shareholding in the company. He has appeared multiple times on Western Australia's top-fifty rich list with an estimated wealth approaching half a billion dollars. The Daily Mail has contacted Peet Limited for comment regarding the controversy surrounding the Lennon family.
The video documenting the poster placement shows Lennon and fellow far-right influencer 'SirDoug', who supports the 'March for Australia' movement, walking through Melbourne to affix posters featuring both Akram and former US President Donald Trump. In several clips, strangers with blurred faces can be seen posing beside the influencers, while one passerby calls out jovially to 'Auspill'.
