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Behind the Lines

Cathy Wilcox

Sydney-based cartoonist and illustrator Cathy Wilcox has been drawing cartoons since 1989. Her work appears almost daily in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. She is the president of the Australian Cartoonists Association. She is also an award-winning illustrator of children’s books. Wilcox received Stanley Awards for her cartoons in 1994, 1997, 2014, 2015 and 2019, and a Gold Stanley in 2021. She was MoAD’s Political Cartoonist of the Year in 2009, 2016 and 2020.

Works also displayed at Behind the Lines 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

An endless cycle of the government cracking down on one thing, then the bank finding another way to take money from the customer.

The House Always Wins

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Native animals are labelled as good moral attributes. Pests are labelled as undesirable traits. Text says native species/good traits are at danger of becoming extinct, whilst 'feral pests proliferate.'

Endangered Species

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Scott Morrison is in four panels confronted by disaster after disaster. He prays for 'another distraction' each time.

Pray for Distraction

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

A man on steps at a rally asks the crowd, 'Whadda we want?' The crowd responds, 'Any excuse to get out of the house'. The crowd hold up placards asking for more freedoms.

Lockdown Protest

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

A view of a windy road with signs pointing out steps to reconciliation. A point in the road is 'Encounter major political roadblock'. After this, the cycle repeats again.

The Road to Reconcilation

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Two men stand with a gap between them. One man's T-shirt reads, 'I climbed Uluru'. Other man's T-shirt reads, 'I still don't have a voice in the Constitution'.

The Gap

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

A scorpion (Scott Morrison) and a frog (unions) are on one side of a river with a strong current. On the other side is 'Post-COVID recovery land'. The scorpion asks the frog to carry him over the river.

The Scorpion and the Frog

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Four 'new monuments' with corresponding text are displayed. Each monument is an ironic comment on a stereotype, for example, 'The leader who felt ashamed'.

New Monuments

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

At 'Pleasant Meadows Aged Care' home a lady opens the door to the Grim Reaper. She says, 'Ah - you must be the new casual'.

The New Casual

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

An anxiety meter with varying levels to measure 'Today's anxiety level'. It is styled as a cutout, and suggests attaching the needle to point to where their anxiety level is.

Today’s Anxiety Level

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

A man and a woman watch TV on a couch. They reflect on pre-pandemic issues such as severe water restrictions due to drought. They now label these as 'Good times'.

Nostalgia

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

A flow chart of different soundbites that are synonyms for 'It wasn't me'.

Chain of Command

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

The NSW and Victorian premiers stand in the bow of the ‘Inquiry Princess'. Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton race away on a small 'Border Force' boat, saying 'Hasta la vista, chumps!'

Hasta la Vista

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Josh Frydenberg is on a quiz show. His response to every question is 'Tax cuts'.

Mastermind

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Two people sit at a table with mugs in front of them. One, reading a newspaper, says 'This is such a bad policy. The opposition needs to stand up and refute it'. The other responds, 'The what?'

The What?

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Josh Frydenberg is on one side of a bridge made from money. He says, 'Fingers crossed!' to a woman as she is about to cross. On the other side is a sign saying 'vaccine'.

Bridge to Recovery

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Four panels outlining Australian soldiers' training, which resulted in 'terrible acts' including murdering civilians in Afghanistan.

Killing Men

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Four politicians with 'Minister for...' titles relating to staying quiet or acting without consequences. Text reads, 'The PM has made some new appointments, to show just how serious he is about changing the culture for women in Australia. To name a few...'

Serious About Women

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Four people in suits sit in front of a map of Australia labelled, 'Australia by electorate'. They discuss paying people to get vaccinated against COVID.

Cash for Votes

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Barnaby Joyce says to a classroom of kids, 'Well, I for one won't be taking any action on climate change until I know the cost and who is paying for it'.

Who Pays?

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

List of global disasters and issues such as 'corruption, covid and carbon emissions'. Text tells the reader to 'Lower your expectations and celebrate all the things you've learned to live with'.

Lower Your Expectations

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Scott Morrison's daughters sit with him. They ask, 'Daddy, what did YOU do in the COVID lockdown?' A bag with a CBR tag is in the background.

Daddy What Did YOU Do?

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Six panels, in each panel a journalist asks a minister a question. Text above is, 'Blind trust is the answer to everything.'

Blind Trust

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce say social media needs to be held accountable for misinformation. George Christensen and another backbencher in the background say, 'Free speech baby!'

Free Speech, Baby!

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Four images depicting people trying to access COVID-19 tests and results. COVID impacts all stages, except the stage to pay a fine for not registering a positive result.

Domicron's Test Shop

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

A boat 'ALP' speeds away from someone wearing rainbow colours in the water. A man on the boat says, 'We'll come back and pick you up when we're in government...'

Kids Overboard

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

A 'How not to vote' card with six caricatures and reasons not to vote for those political parties or politicians.

How Not to Vote

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

A mother holding a newspaper says to her children, 'Hey kids, who wants to go to the wildlife sanctuary to say goodbye to all the animals?'

Say Goodbye

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Two people sit watching TV, Anthony Albanese is on the screen. An Aboriginal flag is above the TV. Text reads, 'I for one look forward to the inevitable call for media balance between the heartfelt well-informed and the strategically bad-faith.'

Balance

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Four panels of a therapy session. A woman on a couch lists global issues. Therapist suggests focusing on fixable things. Woman lists more issues. Therapist says, '... we're cooked'.

Therapy

Cathy Wilcox, Nine Papers,

Two girls are playing with dolls, one says, 'Let's play politicians'. The other replies, 'Bags I be Jacinda'. Background is pink with inspiring words describing Jacinda Ardern.

Role Model

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Entitled 'Uneasy lies the head...' King Charles wears a large purple crown. On the crown there is a list of uncomfortable truths about his past and the British monarchy.

Coronation

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Four women sit discussing how to report harassment. Two men look on, one says, 'Women's problems!'

Women's Problems

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Alan Joyce in a suit and glasses collects colourful 'Exec's baggage' from a Qantas flight airport conveyor belt. Bags include 'Latest profits' and 'COVID bail-out'.

Exec's Baggage

Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald,

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