Thaksin: A Joy To Cartoonist

[sriracha john]

Thaksin A Joy To Cartoonist

a full-sized, readable version available here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...st&p=949139

Stephff's sketch of Thaksin Shinawatra's wife Pojaman searching for her lost suitcases on a conveyor belt outside the Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

On an A4 paper was a sketch of Thaksin Shinawatra's wife Pojaman, with her Farrah Fawcett hairdo, searching for her lost suitcases on a conveyor belt outside the Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

"Here they are! My lost suitcases which never arrived in London!!!" a dialogue balloon exclaimed.

In Starbucks, Bangkok, sitting next to stacks of the day's Thai newspapers, including The Nation that headlined "Pojaman returns without Thaksin," was Stephff who was pencilling in more suitcases.

Earlier that Thursday afternoon, sipping a big cup of coffee at home, the 42-year-old French cartoonist whose real name is Stephane Peray, had browsed the newspapers and questions automatically popped up in his mind.

"Why would she (Pojaman) return to Thailand?" "Maybe she wants to pack more suitcases and return to London?" and "Maybe she came to pick up the lost suitcases?"

"I remembered Pojaman flew to London last month with a lot of suitcases. And that a lot of bags were lost in Suvarnabhumi. So I combined the two and drew an absurdity out of something real," explained Stephff, while sketching a cartoon, which involved Condoleezza Rice, Kim Jong-il, Shinzo Abe, Roh Moo-hyun and a nuclear bomb.

The "Pojaman" cartoon was for Stephff's weekday cartoons for The Nation while the "nuclear bomb" was for newspapers in more than 25 countries.

The Bangkok-based cartoonist, whose cartoons have also appeared in Sin Chew Daily, is no stranger to Malaysia. Lat's books made him interested in Malaysian life.

Stephff finds many similarities between the middle class in Thailand and Malaysia.

"In Lat's cartoons, there are Chinese who like shopping and new condominiums, which is similar in Thailand," he said in a thick French accent.

In the last 13 years, he has satirised Thailand, politically, culturally and socially. And his recurring themes are nepotism and cronyism.

"This is a Thai-Chinese thing. Whenever you are in power, you have to share it with your family and friends," he said. "Nepotism and cronyism are not bad in Asia. They make sense. You are supposed to help your family and friends."

The cartoonist has poked fun at five Thai Prime Ministers--Chuan Leekpai, Banharn Silpa-archa, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, Thaksin Shinawatra and Surayud Chulanont.

Who is his favourite prime minister, cartoon-wise?

It is not easy to find something funny about Chuan Leekpai, said Stephff, who was fired from the French navy because he drew a caricature of his "humourless" ship commander.

Chavalit has a particular face that is easy to draw and Banharn has an interesting face.

Thaksin is his favourite.

"Because Thaksin's always has some crazy, funny idea. It is easy to make funny something that is already funny," he said.

Take, for example, the Thailand Elite Card.

Thaksin's idea was to sell one million memberships at one million baht (RM100,000) each, which entitled holders privileges including fast-track immigration clearance and multiple entry visa within the first five years of its introduction.

Stephff is missing Thaksin, who is in self-imposed exile in London.

"You can get so many cartoon ideas from him," said the Frenchman who drew his first cartoon (the insurgency in Thailand's deep south) for The Nation in April 1993.

One of his favourite cartoons on Thailand is his caricature of Thaksin as a square-faced shark in the animation movie, Finding Nemo. He called his parody "Finding DEMOcracy."

- The Star (Malaysia)

[steveromagnino]

great article;

Stephff is awesome :-) Not quite Minhinick, but close :-)

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

Stephff misses old 'Square Face'

French cartoonist to bring Thaksin back to Thailand - in form of caricature

French cartoonist Stephane Peray, aka Stephff, will today bring the caricature of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, if not the man, back to Thailand through an exhibition of his works at Thammasat University's Pridi Banomyong Institute.

About half of the 100 cartoons on display are either satires of local politics first published in The Nation or pieces critiquing international issues that were printed in newspapers in 25 countries.

Among the former is "Thai Monopoly", the cartoonist's favourite, which features Thaksin in a Monopoly board game.

"I used a board game as a metaphor. Some metaphors are used too often, like the Titanic, so I think it's something new," Peray said.

As expected, Thaksin is a star of the exhibition entitled "Weapons of Mass Derision: Stephff's Cartoons", which will run until December 1.

"Lots of local works are about Thaksin since the selection was done long before the coup. There are only a few pieces on Sonthi [boonyaratglin] and Surayud [Chulanont] that I just updated in the last minutes," Peray said.

The cartoonist, who began drawing for The Nation in 2003, confirmed that Thaksin was his favourite character.

"Yes, I'm missing him in the sense that he is always an easy target. His attitude, emotions, and his stupid ideas are all easy to make fun of. I'll never get enough of them," he said.

Peray's works at Thammasat offer a summary of how he sees the world and some of Thailand's public figures. The cartoonist will meet with fans in an open discussion and sale of his works on Saturday, November 18 from 1pm-6pm at the library.

- The Nation