Artist Drew McDonald
Episode #2
A shiny red toaster. Two dolphins bursting out of it. A nuclear reactor in the sky that keeps us alive and could vaporise us at any second. And a dragon in a cave with your number on it. Welcome to episode 2 of the PlayBrave Show.
Watch on YouTube · Listen on Spotify
Serendipitous
A trip up to SWELL Sculpture Festival in Currumbin to see the exhibition turned into a lucky run-in with artist Drew McDonald, standing right beside his sculpture SOMA. No prep, notes. Just a spur-of-the-moment conversation on the sand, one single take and it felt serendipitous.
That’s what the PlayBrave Show is all about. It’s taken a moment to get it here, but it’s here. Huge thanks to Drew for his generosity.
What we get into
Why put dolphins in a toaster? “To stop people in their tracks… and get them to zoom out on the bigger picture of us floating around in infinity.”
Nick Cave, Huxley’s Brave New World, and where our chase for a perfect, crease-free life might be heading
A self-confessed perfectionist who made seven versions before scaling up, and still chooses play
Why nobody’s scared of dolphins, and how joy wins back the attention the scroll stole
The dragon with your number on it
What keeps an artist going when the maths says stop
See the work
Stolen from Drew
Make the weird thing first. Work out what it means later.
Nobody’s scared of dolphins. Joy gets you through the door.
Perfect is a trap. Leave a few creases in.
Go find your dragon. Stop hiding under the bed with a stick.
Just for fun
What’s Drew doing just for fun right now?
“Going to see gigs, art shows and making art.”
Your turn: what are you doing just for fun right now? Tell us in the comments. The best answers get a shout-out next episode.
This week’s PlayBrave dare
Go to one gig, market or art show you’d normally skip. Stand in front of something weird. Tell the artist what you felt.
As Drew says, that’s what keeps artists going.
Drew McDonald with his sculpture SOMA at the SWELL 2026 Sculpture Festival photo by Chrystal Dawn
Meet Drew
Former fitter-turner. Barbershop owner. Maker of sharks bursting out of bananas.
Drew McDonald is a sculptor from Brunswick Heads on Bundjalung Country who makes absurd, beautifully engineered work that stops people in their tracks. His shark-banana ‘Sharnana’ won the People’s Choice and Kids’ Choice awards at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi in 2024, the first time he’d ever exhibited. Soma was the Waverley Council favourite at Bondi in 2025, and ‘Beach Ball Spider’ took out the major award at SWELL 2025.
Drew’s website → https://www.drewmcdonaldstudio.com
Drew on Instagram → @drew_mcdonald_studio
Go down the rabbit hole
Drew McDonald Studio: drewmcdonaldstudio.com
SWELL Sculpture Festival: swellsculpture.com.au. It’s free, on every September at Currumbin.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, where the name Soma comes from
In this episode
0:00 A toaster, outer space and a dragon
0:30 Where we are: SWELL 2026
1:00 Meet Soma
2:18 How Soma got its name
3:41 Huxley, Brave New World and the chase for perfection
5:05 Why dolphins? Winning back your attention
6:18 Seven versions of perfect
7:12 The beach-ball spider and Sharnana
8:08 Art where you least expect it
9:34 The dragon in the cave
10:33 How Drew stays in the game
11:24 Show up for artists
11:50 Meet Drew McDonald
12:05 Thrive on, brave soul
Music: “Sports Drums” by Jonas Blakewood, via Pixabay.
Recorded at Currumbin Beach on Yugambeh Country.
Stay in the game and thrive on, brave soul.
