Screening: Peter Nicholson’s Rubbery Figures

The eighties were a period of great political upheaval, creating perfect fodder for comedians, cartoonists and animators alike.  Enter "Rubbery Figures", lead by cartoonist Peter Nicholson, a powerful example of cutting satire via the medium of puppetry and caricature. 

With politicians like Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard, Margret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan falling in their cross hairs, this series of short films aired as part of the popular comedy skit show Fast Forward.

Cartoonist Q&A

Join us for a lively Q&A session with three of the exhibiting cartoonist from the She’ll be right, mate? - An Indigenous History in Australian Cartoons currently on show at Burrinja Gallery.

We are inviting you to bring your burning questions about cartooning to the discussion: How do cartoonists see the world? What is it like caricaturing prominent and political figures? How to structure a cartoon? Do get cartoonists hate-mail?

Panel includes:

Rolf Heimann (LOFO): Melbourne based Heimann has published over 70 books since the mid-1970s and is the man behind the Eagle Eyes Books published in the late 1980s. He was named Australian Cartoonist of the Year at the 19th Annual Stan Cross Awards in 2003, for cartooning excellence.

Bronwyn Halls: Physicist turned cartoonist, Bronwyn Halls is one of the few female artists to make a living from the profession. She has worked for the Melbourne Times and many other papers since the late 1980s.

Paul Harvey (Harv): A sports cartoonists for many years, Harvey is well-known for his cartoons of AFL players. With a wealth of knowledge around the practice and an impressive back-catalogue of caricature stories, expect to hear some great tales.

Facilitated by Jim Bridges, President of the Australian Cartoon Museum

Free entry // RSVP

Curator Talk: Albert Namatjira, Clifford Possum and the origins of Aboriginal Art

The beginning of the Hermannsburg School of water colour painting in the late 1930s has been synonymous with the stellar career of its originator, Albert Namatjira. His influence and achievement as a role model and mentor within the Arrernte community of Hermannsburg has been much acknowledged, and his legacy continues through subsequent generations of water colour painters to this day.

Much overlooked though is the affect Namatjira had on the emergence of the Western Desert acrylic art movement in Papunya in the 1970s. In this talk Burrinja curator JD Mittmann will investigate Namatjira’s influence one of its most famous artists, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.