Behind the Lines: Australia’s Best Political Cartoons of 2017

From the Museum of Australian Democracy website.

The Three Ring Circus by David Rowe

Australia has a rich tradition of political cartooning, nothing and no one is sacred, all politicians and policies may face the brute force of the cartoonist’s pen.

Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Political Cartoons is an annual exhibition run by the museum bringing together a selection of the best works of the last year.

Before the internet, television or cinema, the circus was the world’s greatest entertainment industry. In their heyday, circuses were home to grand spectacle and wonder. 

Fast forward 100 years and, under the unquenchable gaze of the 24-hour news cycle, we see Question Time playing out in the circular form of the parliamentary chambers – democracy itself has become the new spectacle. 

Aside from the obvious definition, a three-ring circus means ‘something wild, confusing, engrossing, or entertaining’ and, as the theme for this year’s Behind the Lines, this term captures the feeling of a world in turmoil in which fact and fiction seemingly collide. 

Our cartoonists have been busy wrestling this spirit of surprise and turbulence – we are fortunate to have their help finding ways to navigate the nonsensical, cut through the spin and smile in these unsettling times.

Scrambled, Lindsay Foyle, New Matilda, 14 August 2017

Birds of Australia, David Rowe, The Australian Financial Review, 16 August 2017

UPDATE

"David Rowe has been named political cartoonist of the year by Behind the Lines" in The Australian Financial Review.