ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/25/2004 04 November 2004
Australian cartoons to spice up Delhi
An exhibition of cartoons by Alan Moir, one of Australia’s most celebrated cartoonists opens at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre on Thursday 4 November at 5.30 pm. It will be on view until 30 November.
Australia has a rich tradition of cartooning and the world’s first society of cartoonists, now the Australian Cartoonists Association, was originally formed in Sydney in July 1924.
“Alan Moir’s work is acknowledged as some of the most piquant and penetrating cartooning currently being produced. His range of subject reflects Australia – our unique political culture, distinctive vibrant society and, of course, our passion for sport, including cricket,” said the Australian High Commissioner to India, Ms Penny Wensley AO.
“The Australian tradition, of irreverence and satire – of not taking ourselves too seriously - and, particularly the satire of leading figures, has made cartoons a remarkably popular and enduring public art form,” the High Commissioner said. “This exhibition reveals Alan’s biting wit and his capacity to capture that very Australian tendency – a need to expose pretension, to cut through any bombast to reveal the true feelings of individuals and significance of events,” Ms Wensley added.
The exhibition has over 60 cartoons, mostly comprising Alan Moir’s own work. In addition, there are select historical cartoons by Sir David Low, Phil May, Ruby & Norman Lindsay and Will Dyson - all well known pioneering cartoonists whose innovations have had a lasting influence on world cartooning. According to Alan Moir, “like in Australia, most of India’s modern political cartooning is derived from the great David Low, who worked in Sydney for 10 years before going on to Fleet Street and changing the world of political cartooning in the 1920s to 40s”.
Alan Moir is currently Editorial Cartoonist at the Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian national daily. His work is held in collections in Australia and overseas(including in the collection of Mr Kofi Annan). He is a six time winner of “Editorial Cartoonist of the Year” award; the Churchill Fellowship (2000) and Walkley Award for excellence in Journalism (2000).
While in New Delhi, Alan will make a presentation at the Mass Communication Research Centre at Jamia University on the History of Political cartooning, with a focus on history of political cartooning in Australia. He will also conduct a workshop of senior school students. Alan will also meet a range of fellow Indian cartoonists.
The exhibition and the visit is supported by the Australian High Commission and the Australia-India Council (AIC), a bi-lateral council established by Australian Government to promote and strengthen people to people linkages between Australia and India in a range of areas of mutual interest. For more on AIC, please visit: http://www.dfat.gov.au/aic and for Alan Moir: http://www.moir.com.au
For additional information, please contact: Ms Asha Das Tel: 51399947.