Wrongly labelled a rapist, assaulted in jail, and financially ruined, street artist Anthony Lister is set to make his comeback with an exhibition he describes as a “return from exile”.
Lister, once touted as “Australia’s Banksy”, is challenging the art world and Australian public to re-open the door for him now that he has been cleared of sexually assaulting women.
Despite his acquittal, the six-year legal battle left his reputation – and bank account – in tatters.
Once a celebrated name adorning galleries from New York to Tokyo, Lister’s life was dismantled in 2020 by the accusations. Shows were pulled and his phone stopped ringing.
“The myth of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is just that – a myth – in this country,” Lister told news.com.au.
“None of the women will ever have their names associated with my nightmare, yet my name is mud. I lost everything.”
He is daring Australians to support his new exhibition called “Circus of Life” which is “not just an art exhibition – it’s a return from exile,” he said. “This show is less a comeback and more a correction.”
Lister told news.com.au during a sneak preview that his latest work was “not concerned with decoration or comfort” – the theme of the exhibition being “media, vanity, and collapse”.
“I’ve placed myself on the covers of magazines – not as a celebration, but as a disruption. It’s me inserting myself into a system that manufactures identity and calling out its absurdity from within,” he said.
“Where I am now as an artist is somewhere between reflection and resistance. I’m not chasing relevance – I’m interrogating it. This work sits in that tension: between ego and critique, visibility and distortion, beauty, and something far less comfortable.”
Lister says each piece in the exhibition has to hold tension.
“If it was too comfortable it didn’t make the cut. If it didn’t challenge the viewer – or me – it wasn’t strong enough,” he said.
“Together, the works operate like a magazine that’s slightly unhinged – familiar on the surface, but fractured underneath.”
Lister’s ordeal began when heavily-armed police raided his Sydney home, leading to charges of raping four women and tattooing one without consent.
Police at the time stated, “We believe that he has engaged these people through social circles and part of the community.”
The fallout was immediate and severe; his exhibition at Wollongong Art Gallery was cancelled, and international studios ceased contact.
Despite the professional devastation, Lister steadfastly maintained his innocence. After two trials, he was ultimately found not guilty on all charges.
His barrister, prominent Sydney legal professional Margaret Cunneen SC, argued during the trial that the accusers had retrospectively reframed consensual sexual encounters as non-consensual due to personal regret, societal pressures like the “MeToo” movement, career aspirations, jealousy, or a desire to present their past in a more sympathetic light.
The jury’s verdict – not guilty on all counts – came within a minute, a speed Ms Cunneen described as unprecedented in her 40 years of criminal trials.
Lister credits his freedom to Cunneen, lawyer Claudette Chua, and barrister David Scully who he says “really deserves much more credit for unravelling” the prosecution case against him.
On Friday, Lister again stood before a judge over lesser charges associated with the 2020 police raids.
His lawyer Claudette Chua argued the air soft pistols found during a police raid of his home were being used for live art, where Lister dressed as a police officer. The knuckle duster was made of silver and actually a piece of jewellery he had worn to a fashion show.
The substances found at his properties were “left over drugs from parties” he had attended or hosted.
After being granted a no conviction on the remaining drug and firearm charges and given a fine, Lister walked from court, firmly focused on his future.
“Finally I feel free. It’s all over finally,” Lister told news.com.au after his final court appearance.
“I am so very very happy I can finally put this all behind me, I am overwhelmed with lightness on my shoulders. I actually feel like dancing.”
The solo exhibition will be open to the public to view for free from May 12 “and despite having no money” Lister says he is “committed to his practice and contributing to the community through art funded solely independently from my own very empty pockets”.
The location for the exhibition will be announced on Lister’s website on May 9.
The opening is May 12 and there will be lie drawings on May 14 and an artist talk at 2pm on May 16.
