Lawrence matriculated from Camberwell Grammar School in Melbourne and enrolled at La Trobe University in its first year, becoming the foundation editor of the student newspaper Rabelais.
[14][15] Lawrence was recruited to manage Australian electric folk group, The Bushwackers,[9][16] departing in 1976 with the band for an extended 18-month tour of Europe including England, Scotland and Wales, and recording their album Murrumbidgee[17] at Morgan's Studios, London.
"[27] During a period of 10 years, Lawrence embarked on a personal project to photograph one hundred of Australia's most important postwar modernists including Sidney Nolan,[28][29] Lloyd Rees,[4] Arthur Boyd,[30] Donald Friend,[31] Sam Fullbrook,[32] Jeffrey Smart,[33] Elwyn Lynn,[34] David Larwill[35] and John Wolseley.
[50] A subsequent project, 'Indian Aussies' was commissioned by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs[51] and has been touring India after its launch in New Delhi in 2013.
[52][53] In 2012, Lawrence's production company Miro Films[54] began producing the television arts program InsideArt,[55][56] which has run four seasons across Australian public broadcasters in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.