Grayson Perry bridles at the suggestion that he might – shock horror – be conservative. “Is a man that walks around everywhere in a dress conservative?” he splutters.

In January the celebrated British artist will bring his unique brand of “comedy lectures” to Australia. Titled Them & Us, it looks at the many ways we have ended up in the polarised world of today. Brexit gets a poke, as well as taste, power, masculinity and class: topics Perry has exuberantly and sardonically explored in his art career, books and documentaries.