“On a continent of 2,000 languages and subsidiary literacy, what could be better than cartoons as a universal language? In the territory of the majority youth, of the often adolescent press and of prescribed humour, what could be better than satire as a tool for debunking autocracies? In a land where ancestral political systems, democratic deception and impregnable taboos sometimes collide, what could be better than offbeat graphic journalism?
Particularly since the “Press Spring” of the 90s, the African “cartoon” has become a Trojan horse that invades the strongholds of repressive regimes. It is both a feint at censorship and a frontal assault on self-proclaimed mohamets. South Africa’s Zapiro, Algeria’s Dilem, Zimbabwe’s Nomote and the late Azzo of Sierro-Leon have all faced trials, imprisonment and sometimes fatal assaults. And when press cartoonists finally find their place in the media world, they are often confronted with the other pressure of the vice: economic aridity. There, a Sahelian will be free but paid by the slingshot. Elsewhere, a southern African will be paid what he or she is worth, as long as his or her pen is not constrained. Because on a continent of 54 countries, there is not just one Africa…
Despite these different contexts, satirical “Africans” can identify with the lines that sketch out a freedom of expression that is as joyful as it is serious. They are joining forces, “liking” each other, intertwining and sometimes exhibiting their work, under the aegis of organisations such as Cartooning for Peace. The transnational gaze becomes the guarantor of the safety of cartoonists and the promotion of their work. Freedom of expression is won one cartoon at a time, as Sahelian thought teaches us: “if the termite mound lives, it is because it adds earth to the earth”. The termite mound of continental press cartoons is constantly reaching for the sky of human rights. And when cartoonists and politicians play cat and mouse, it’s sometimes hard to tell who’s the cat and who’s the rodent…”
Damien Glez (Burkina Faso), cartoonist and editorialist
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The exhibition is available only in French. If you are interested in renting it, please contact Laure Simoes, Editorial Director: laure@cartooningforpeace.org.
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