Double Vision

By Sarah Halfpenny Photos Gary Sissons

On an ordinary morning run through the peninsula streets, Jack Miers watched a waste truck trundle past and joked to his business partner, Josh Brown, that it could use a bit of a glow-up. Hours later, the duo discovered the Mornington Peninsula Shire had put out an expression of interest for artists to transform their fleet. The timing felt like fate. Now, Jack and Josh’s vibrant designs – featuring Western Port Bay, native banksias, and a cheeky game of backyard cricket with bins as wickets – are rolling through streets, turning the most utilitarian of council vehicles into moving celebrations of peninsula life.

“We’re rapt to have our artwork on the waste trucks; it’s been great to showcase what we think are the best parts of the peninsula in a light-hearted manner,” Josh says. It also has extra significance for him: “Bin day was already exciting in my household when the kids run up to the front window to see the truck, but there’ll be a whole new added excitement now we have our own artwork on the trucks!” he laughs.

Bin day was already exciting in my household when the kids run up to the front window to see the truck

For Jack and Josh, the peninsula is woven into the fabric of who they are as artists. Both grew up here, learning to surf around Western Port Bay and later at Gunnamatta. Their career paths weren’t identical, however – Josh worked across marketing agencies, fashion labels and design studios before starting his own business, while Jack went straight into freelance work, doing illustration-based logos, T-shirt graphics and design. But both had early signs of what was to come. “My folks must have seen some sort of interest as I remember going to drawing classes from about 8-9yrs old,” Josh recalls.

Josh also ran The Snake Hole, a small independent art gallery in Mornington that became a hub for the local creative community. “It was probably Josh starting up The Snake Hole which enabled creatives and like-minded crew to have somewhere to go and enjoy the local music and arts scene,” Jack explains.

Even though we already had pretty similar tastes and styles before teaming up, it definitely took a bit of time to really gel together

Despite an eight-year age gap, their partnership evolved organically. Working together on freelance graphic design projects, they were both painting murals separately until Jack landed a major commission. “The mural was way too big for me to tackle by myself, so I got Josh in to help out,” Jack remembers. “One job lead to another and we just really loved working as a duo as it was a lot more enjoyable and quicker to finish them; so we kept it going.”

Eight years later, their collaboration has taken them from cafes and breweries to some impressive heights — working with AFL clubs, and painting live murals at the F1 Melbourne Grand Prix and Australian Cricket Test Series.

Their aesthetic – bold, colourful, distinctly Australian – has been years in the making. “Even though we already had pretty similar tastes and styles before teaming up, it definitely took a bit of time to really gel together,” Josh admits. Their studio is “littered with old books, postcards and beer coasters from the ‘80s and ‘90s,” enabling them to draw inspiration from vintage Aussie insignia, signage, and cartoonists. The result is work that feels both nostalgic and fresh.

The success of their partnership comes down to constant communication. “It’s generally pretty collaborative, even if we split the jobs for different projects, we’ll constantly be asking each other for opinions and approval to make sure we’re on the same page. Always having a second set of eyes to run over anything speeds up any decision-making process and ensures a better end result,” Jack explains.

Their advice for aspiring Peninsula artists is simple. “We’d have to say keep at it and stay motivated. These things can take time so as long as you are doing what you love, it will all fall into place; maybe not at first but eventually it will click and it’ll only get more enjoyable from there,” Josh says.

For locals eager to see more of their work, Jack and Josh have left their mark across the region. You’ll find their murals at Commonfolk, The Nook Gallery & Studios, Somers General Store, Jetty Road Brewery, and St Andrews Beach Brewery, among others. The duo is currently working on several mural projects and will be exhibiting in a group exhibition called Out of Order at Onshore Studios on 14 November in Rosebud Industrial Estate.

Looking back, they realise they’ve found what they were looking for all along. “We love the freedom that comes with working for ourselves, it lets us stay close to home and have a bit more balance living down here on the Peninsula,” Jack says. For two artists who could work anywhere, they’ve chosen to stay exactly where they started, and in doing so have proven that making a living as an artist doesn’t mean leaving home behind. And for the rest of us, that means more colour, more creativity, and more reminders of why we love calling the peninsula home.

Find out more about Jack and Josh on their socials and website.

jackandjosh.com.auIG @jackandjosh