How do we see our politicians?

How have artists shaped the way we see our politicians, and capture the zeitgeist and political pulse of the day?
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This week has been yet another interesting one in Australian politics. As Queensland looks to face a hung parliament – despite one of Australia’s largest swings in political history to the ALP – our Federal Government has come under increasing pressure, and with a party room meeting scheduled for next Tuesday sparring talk of a leadership spill, we ask how do images capture, and massage, the political pulse?

Politicians have long been the favoured subject of cartoonists. The photojournalist, similarly, has the ability to colour how we read a moment – a broken, confused, befuddled, or fragile expression defining the political tone.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina