Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival – The Exhibitions!
October 20, 2020 in Comment, Events, General
Exhibition poster cartoon by festival organiser © Roger Penwill.
Lovely to see a REAL cartoon exhibition on REAL walls! Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival may have been cancelled earlier in the year but the accompanying ’20-20 Vision’ show lives on at the wonderful Bear Steps Gallery in Shrewsbury. It opened this week and features 70 cartoons by 43 cartoonists including Steve Bell, The Surreal McCoy, Pete Dredge, Jonathan Cusick, Tat Effby, Wilbur Dawbarn, Ralph Steadman, Royston Robertson, John Landers, Steve Best, Jeremy Banx, Kathryn Lamb, Sarah Boyce, Tim Harries, Glenn Marshall, Andy Davey, Clive Goddard & Zoom Rockman.
The Bear Steps Gallery, a fifteenth century restored building. Photo © Glenn Marshall.
There is also a bonus exhibition in the upstairs gallery of cartoons responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo of the team hanging the artwork last Sunday © Tony Clarkson.
The PCO blog featured some of the cartoons selected for the ‘Vision’ exhibition earlier in the year and you can see them here.
Another photo of the hang © Tony Clarkson.
Here is a selection from the ‘No One Saw It Coming’ coronavirus cartoons display.
Ralph Steadman did a HUGE painting. A video of him in action as he creates it is displayed next a much smaller print of the work.
Cartoon © Ralph Steadman.
Cartoon © Peter Schrank
Poignant cartoon by Peter Schrank about isolation, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable during lock down.
Cartoon © Steve Bell.
Unsurprisingly Boris featured heavily in the exhibition. This by The Guardian’s Steve Bell…
Cartoon © Andy Davey.
…and another from Andy Davey.
Cartoon © Chris Williams
…and yet another. This by ‘Dink’
Cartoon © Grizelda.
Over-indulgence cartoon from Grizelda…although some of us didn’t drink sensibly even before the pandemic.
Caricature © Jonathan Cusik.
Fine caricature of Chris ‘Now Go Wash Your Hands’ Whitty by Jonathan Cusick.
Cartoon © Pete Dredge.
Back to school with Dredge.
Cartoon © Ken Pyne.
Ken Pyne takes us on holiday….remember those?
Cartoon © Royston Robertston…and Phil.
Pirate material by Rrrrroyston Rrrrrobertson.
Cartoon © Henny Beaumont.
No exhibition on this theme would be complete without a wave to the super-spreader himself. Henny here channeling Hokasai.
Cartoon © The Surreal McCoy.
Finally as we head into the second wave this cartoon by the Surreal McCoy seems perfectly timed.
Through the exhibition run we’ll be publishing more of the ‘No One Saw it Coming’ exhibits across the vast PCO media empire so keep an eye on our Facebook (@UKProfessionalCartoonists), Twitter (@procartoonists) and Instagram (@procartoonists) feeds.
For more Covid ‘fun’ we published a selection of infectious laughter earlier in the year here.
The exhibition at Bear Steps runs until 31st October and the gallery is open 10.00am – 4.0pm daily. (Covid measures at the gallery: hand sanitiser at the door, 6 visitors at a time with an eye kept on flow, in one door out through another. Face coverings to be worn)
Puppet caricature © Jonathan Cusik.
Here’s a fine video of the cartoon-form Mayor of Shrewsbury Philip Gillam introducing the show.
Congrats to all those involved from Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival and Bear Steps Gallery for putting the shows together in tricky times. Fingers tentatively crossed that the festival can return in all its glory next Spring!
- Thanks to festival committee member Sarah Knap for extra info in this post.
by Glenn Marshall
Cancer Sells
December 9, 2020 in Comment, General
Tat Effby writes:
Cancer isn’t funny. I wouldn’t dream of making jokes about it. Or so I thought until I got it, after which point I’m afraid it was open season.
I’ve written about my experience of breast cancer in a graphic short story called Cancer Sells. It was my entry for the Jonathan Cape / Observer graphic short story competition and I’m pleased to share it here. I wasn’t a cartoonist when I was going through treatment but I was a writer, so all the appalling, demeaning, disgusting and absurd incidents got squirrelled away where they percolated for a long time. It’s now 10 years since my brush with cancer, although it was less of a brush and more like being beaten about the body with a broom.
I actually have quite a lot to thank cancer for; first it didn’t kill me, second it led, in a round about way, to me becoming a cartoonist. It was one of those crossroads moments (not a Crossroads moment – that involves a lot more wobbly scenery) where the simple act of not-dying made me consider a change of direction. So I left my job as an advertising creative and eventually evolved into a cartoonist, and let me tell you I’m glad I did: I’ve never had so much sex or money.
This story won’t be to everyone’s taste, cancer is an awful disease and I couldn’t countenance making jokes about someone else’s experience, but this was mine, so here it is.
All artwork and story © Tat Effby
You can support and get more information on breast cancer here:
Breast Cancer UK
Pink Ribbon Foundation
Cancer Research UK
Tags: breast cancer, cancer, cartoonist, cartoons, graphic novel, graphic short story, PCO, proocartoonists, strip cartoon, Tat Effby 1 Comment »