The Thousands

When you think of political cartoons you probably imagine ‘plumb-pudding’, Brant or a weasel with the face of Tony Abbott, but the hundred-strong collection of drawings in Being Born Is Goin’ Blind by Sam Wallman is comprised mostly of political cartoons – only with a lower-case ‘p’. Against an intricate backdrop of North Melbourne these illustrations tackle ingrained everyday issues, be they environmentalism, sexuality, immigration, animal rights or that bloody Keith Haring mural.

Often the drawings are a bit blunt – it’s not meant to be a picture puzzle book of course, but it’s hard to confuse the artist’s views on veganism when he describes salmonella and swine flu as animals exacting “excellent revenge” upon humanity. Also, the book does flag itself up as hypocritical, stating amongst its enviro-gripes that a ringtail possum’s home was felled and a Bornean village’s river contaminated in order to create it. Uh… merry Christmas!

However, Being Born Is Goin’ Blind is on occasion quite sweet, especially on the subject of homosexual love – yes, even in a book where sperm scream “WHY DADDY!?” from inside a man’s anal passage. The sight of two people being pulled towards each other as g-force suddenly enacts upon their faces is a perfect depiction of human affection, and no amount of cynicism against society surrounding it can detract from that.