The painting, accompanied by a collection of yearbooks, asks the public to guess at the unconfirmed identities of the subjects in the painting.
The catch? Painter Martin Shaw has never verified the answer — and doesn't intend to.
For the past 40 years, the public has written down their guesses.
From schoolkids, to politicians, to the elderly, entries fill the yearbooks at every venue, offering an insight into Australia’s shifting identity, values and heroes.
Each decade, the painting tours the country, returning to past venues where locals can revisit their old guesses, often with a mix of nostalgia and amusement.
“You’ll be a bit older, maybe a bit smarter, but not necessarily wiser,” Martin Shaw said.
The project has also collected hundreds of letters from the public, grouped into themed categories like arts, sport, regionalism and history.
What emerges is a unique social archive, where voices across generations speculate, reflect, and connect.
With no prize on offer and no correct answer confirmed, the project thrives on pure curiosity.
As Shaw puts it, it’s a kind of peaceful, slow-motion relay, a decades-old national puzzle that sparks conversation wherever it travels.
In 2025, the painting begins its Victorian tour in Mildura, stopping in regional towns including Shepparton, before reaching Melbourne in 2026.
So, do you think you have what it takes to guess?
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