Obsessed by the human form, Bill Cook bucked the 1970s trend of abstract art, focusing instead on figurative painting and drawing during his art studies at the prestigious South Australian School of Art in North Adelaide. In addition to his paintings and drawings, he was soon producing political cartoons, caricatures and illustrations for a range of publications.

Over a career spanning five decades, he has produced a substantial oeuvre in a range of media and styles, most recently ceramic sculptures that combine 'the complexity of his painterly works with a multi-angled human ceramic canvas', and works that reference the 'exile, longing and marginalisation' of migration.

Bill's work is held in numerous public collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, several universities and in private collections nationally and internationally.