Otto van de Wijgaart, a passionate Pop Culture artist from Newcastle, Australia, is renowned for his colorful depictions of performance artists across various genres—music, movies, theatre, television, and radio. His fascination with popular culture began early, reflected in his highly engaging drawings that resemble a "Where’s Wally" of historical and contemporary celebrities. Otto’s art, a montage of personalities vying for attention, has the charm of a V.I.P. Guess Who.
Known for his distinctive and lively style, Otto has completed numerous private commissions. His work's growing popularity recently earned him his first public commission. For Terrace Reflections, he is creating seven new 2m x 2m designs to be displayed on vinyl banners from December 2024 to January 2025, as part of Port Stephens Council’s place activation initiative.
Otto Draws Pop Culture has also gifted the use of his artwork for postal envelopes to support ‘Avenue: A workplace for all’, whose charity model ‘DISKOFLIKS’: the community-driven video store, work with Lifeline Op Shops to resale
movie, music and gaming discs, creating meaningful work for people with disabilities and generating income which
further supports Lifeline’s work in suicide prevention.
Otto’s vibrant and character-filled art captures the essence of his subjects, distinguishing him as a rising Pop Culture icon. You can meet Otto at The VIBE studios in Carrington, where he is available for commissioned work.
“If I had 15 minutes of fame, I’d use my time to say…”