Zapiro: Jiving with Madiba

One of the most fun and surprising exhibits I saw while in Cape Town was the Zapiro: Jiving with Madiba exhibit at the South African Jewish Museum. Jonathan Shapiro, a native Capetonian, Shapiro started drawing at an early age and knew early on that being a cartoonist was the path from him. While Shapiro could have been like many of the cartoonist out in the world (i.e. making amazing work but not being noticed), he rose to national fame starting in the late 1980s through his political cartoons depicting Nelson Mandela. Throughout the transition to democracy and the entire years of Mandela's presidency, Shapiro documented South African political history in a way to brought humor to and provided a common ground for all his fellow citizens during a most challenging period. The exhibit showcases Shapiro's documentation of Mandela from his years on Robben Island, throughout his Mandela's and his life as a retiree. It's probably the only art exhibit I've been to where you and all those viewing just walking around laughing in full volume from cartoon strip to cartoon strip!

{Photos: Jonathan Shapiro}