Anita Lester is an Australian based musician, writer and painter.
Having spent years touring the world with rock outfit ‘Lester The Fierce’, in March 2020, Anita released her debut solo EP ‘Erato’. Whilst the timing of the release was ominous, tracks from the work eventually resonated- notably ‘Wrong Time’ and Anita’s cover of ‘You Want it Darker’ by Leonard Cohen - being picked up by film and television including ‘The Walking Dead’, epiloguing her viral live video of the same song- praised by Leonard himself prior to his death.
In June 2021, Anita released her single ‘Sun and moon and stars’, produced by legendary Australian troubadours, Husky.
Over the last decade and a half, Anita has quietly and gracefully established herself as a force in not only music, but visual art, literature and film.
Her last short film ‘Noch Am Leben (I’m Still Alive)’ was shown in over 50 festivals globally, including multiple Oscar contenders. Additionally it is the winner of 23 award laurels.
Her paintings are irreverent, technical and striking, all with a nod to mythological stories- which is shown in her upcoming book ‘The Seven Palaces of Breath: The Mysteries of the Flying Hobbler‘.
Her most recent official portrait of Flea from the 'Red Hot Chilli Peppers', gaining praise far and wide from artists and critics, including Patti Smith, Cat Power and Chris Rock, to name a few.
Anita is also an accomplished poet and storyteller with her work appearing in over a dozen books. Her musical release ’Erato’ is also accompanied by a book of poetry, including the widely publicised ‘Ode to Oz’.
Though there are many facets to Anita Lester’s art practice, it is all grounded in a unique storytelling style that has a red thread woven throughout with links to death, sex, love, longing, slavery and spirituality.