Thursday 10 January 2013

More Spitting Images

Me, in my studio, surrounded by my initial efforts at Spitting Images. Hopefully, at least some will be recognisable, at least to Australian viewers!

Friday 4 January 2013

Spitting Images

I ran the idea of doing a contemporary Australian take on Spitting Images past my brother, who lives in the UK, and was quite a fan of the original TV show which ran from 1984 to 1996  and this was his response

" I just wonder if you can find enough differences and readily recognisable features in your politicians to make them instantly recognisable and at the same time funny. If you tried to do a spitting image series of our current British politicians you would have a sort of identikit parade of young(-ish) men in suits, a bit like a firm of estate agents."

As you can tell, he is obviously not familiar with the current Australian political scene. We have got the most God awful set of politicians but, in general, they are great subjects for caricature so I decided to to dig out a couple of etchings I did last year in printmaking just to illustrate the superb quality of the materials available as subject matter:)

 
“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, subtitled (by me) “But which is which?”, hopefully should need no explanation, at least to fellow Aussies, but, just in case, it represents Bob Brown (Greens), Julia Gillard (Labour) and Tony Abbott (Liberal), coloured appropriately!
 
Unfortunately Bob Brown (Greens) has gone and retired! Not that I was a huge fan of the man but he was God’s gift to caricaturists.
 
 
"Julia as the Red Queen" having beheaded  Tony Abbott, with Kevin Rudd impaled on her sword and hanging on to Wayne Swan by the hair and I wish to acknowledge a debt to Jo Booker's "Julia's Dream" from the  Behind the Lines exhibition as inspiration for the subject matter.
 
Yes, there is plenty to be going on with:)