In the 1850s Australia had gold fever. People flocked from all over the world to stake a claim during the gold rush but only the lucky few were lucky enough to find anything. The frustrations of life on the goldfields were compounded by the heavy handed approach to licensing and taxation that led to the Eureka uprising of 1854.
In 1788 the British Empire established Australia as a penal colony. Part of this meant the construction of prisons for repeat offenders, the most notable being Port Arthur in Tasmania. The worst of the worst were forced to wear this black and yellow uniform dubbed "Magpie" (because the original version was black and white). The juxtaposed colours were inspired by medieval jesters and were meant to humiliate the inmates. Their leather cap had flaps that were kept tied at the top of the cap and could be untied to create a hat brim for hot days so they could be sun smart while working in chain gangs.
Tags:
history, britain, british history, australian history, australia
In 2015 I invented a character for a piece called Mister Hipster who is essentially a hipster superhero. I created this piece for the Linden Postcard Show. I decided it would be fun to create an imaginary book cover for the story of the ultimate showdown between the Craft Beer Crusader and his ultimate foe - Mainstream. Mainstream is a shadowy shape-shifter that is constantly evolving and thwarting Mister Hipster's campaign of individuality.
The one and only Transylvanian Count from the legendary book by Bram Stoker. My inspiration is drawn directly from the book but with an infusion of familiar iconography. Great for fans of literature, horror or the macabre.
