Cartoonist, animator and scriptwriter, self-published an anthology of her cartoons, Virtual Reality (Annandale NSW: Fat Moon Studios, PO Box 152, Annandale (NSW), n.d. [c.1995]). Her 'Fat Moon Studios’ produced recyled cards on local topics, e.g . It was a beautiful night/ all the bins were out (garbage bins in street) 1993, signature illegible, filed under 'Fat Moon Studios’. Wicks contributed cartoons to Heinrich Hinze’s Scratch! A scrapbook of radical cartooning in Australia 2 (winter-spring 1991), including the 2-part 'RIGHT ON QUEUE’ a group of social security beneficiaries waiting in line at the CES: punk girl: 'I KNEW THEY’D (sic) BE WAR’/ hippy 'BEEN WATCHING THE TELLY?’/ punk girl “NO… THE ARMY CAREERS VAN PARKED OUTSIDE THE C.E.S.”. A cartoon accompanying Wicks’ article on copyright reads: 'He: “YOU’RE IN MY DREAMS”/ She: “NEVER A WORD ABOUT COPYRIGHT”; and “MONEY AS A SECOND LANGUAGE/ IF YOU DON’T HAVE IT … SHUTUP” – people speaking dollar signs and coins.
Responding to a survey published in Scratch! (1991) about their practice, Sue Wicks commented:
“• Materials I use a buffet of pens – I like those mapping pens; sometimes I have a go with one of those calligraphy ones; I’ve got some of those techo pens that often clog and dollop out unattractive gobs of ink on drawings. I also use a clutch pencil, a rubber and some hippy white-out that won’t kick a hole in the ozone layer (so they say). I find my style changes depending what pen I use. I’m not too good at combining pens (and styles) yet. I’m involved in a cartoon project at the moment where we use a lot of ink and fine brushes (for the novelty value), textas (on walls, skateramps and big bits of paper) as well as various felt and ink pens (the cheaper kind).
“• Process I tend to scribble ideas on dockets and backs of envelopes and then have a go with a pencil. I usually do a few at a time – scribbling back and fro between them – showing people (if I can) along the way.”
Her cartoons have appeared in the Canberra Times , New Woman Magazine , Asian Business Review and Land Rights News , She was included in Hysterical Women ’96: A collection of 100 Australian feminist cartoons (Perth: Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) WA, 1996). Under the announcement that she had won the Nancy Lee Award sponsored by WEL (Tas) was her 2-part black cartoon showing only eyes: '“So are you gonna try and find the clitoris?”/ “What! In the dark?”’ She was in Barbary O’Brien 's 'The Cartoon Show’ (Noarlunga Community Arts Centre SA, July 1997) with over 30 other Australian cartoonists, including Judy Horacek , Joan Rosser , David Pope (Heinrich Heinze), Rona Chadwick , Gaynor Cardew , Glen le Lievre, Michael Atchison, Peter Broelman and Angie Lyndon . In 2002-3 she was one of the 9 women cartoonists in the Bunker Gallery’s Laugh Lines.
Her animation 'Just a Moment’ won at the Short Sited Film Festival, Wollongong, 1999. She has written scripts for the ABC and for independent film and animation makers.
Sue has done voluntary work with youth, Aboriginal and other community organisations. She lives in Sydney, NSW with a small black and white dog.
