From the exhibition, it's evident that this does not necessarily impoverish their work. Latin American artists often create really colourful cartoons. “They’re just like oil paintings and you’ve got to give yourself the time to take them in.”
 
In Eastern Europe and the Middle East, they’re much darker, not so much as regards colour, but as regards meaning: “They’re sometimes really black and feature lots of blood and skulls.”

 
Lampoons

Cartoons from Western Europe and the United States use humour more. Here, caricaturing politicians in order to lampoon them is the norm. This is not the case everywhere, however. In many parts of the world, cartoonists have to disguise their comments on society. That is why they take refuge in metaphors.

 

Mr Royaards is a cartoonist himself. He knows the boundaries, both self-imposed and dictated by society, which confront political cartoonists. That's what gave him the idea of a global network. He hopes it will act as a forum through which cartoonists can spread their work freely and make contact with each other.
  

'Shaping minds' by Sherif Arafa

Image: VJ Movement

‘Shaping minds’ by Sherif Arafa (b. 1980) Cairo, Egypt. Works for the state-run Roza el-Youssef newspaper.
 
"I am one of the luckiest cartoonists ever! I was born in a severely volatile part of this world (the Middle East), in a crazy atmosphere that turns any cartoonist's talent on. In the third world countries, you will find corruption, poverty, conflicts, ignorance, illness and dictatorship. Being a cartoonist in third world countries is dangerous. You will pay a very heavy price if you draw a cartoon that criticises the 'untouchables'. If you are a cartoonist in my part of the world, you are fortunate, you will find tremendous topics to cover. And if you understand the boundaries, you'll stay out of jail."
 

'Spotlight on Corruption' by Victor Ndula

Image: VJ Movement

‘Spotlight on Corruption’ by Victor Ndula (b. 1976) Nairobi, Kenya. Works for the Nairobi Star newspaper.
 
"I work for a fast-growing daily called the Nairobi Star. When I read the news and watch television, I get sick and tired of mainstream media telling us stories in their own way, especially African stories, The VJ Movement is a brilliant opportunity to reverse this trend. I'm proud of being an African cartoonist, telling our stories, good and bad, and best of all exporting a unique brand of "African" cartoons."
 
 
 
 

'Iranian Vote' by Rajesh KC

Image: VJ Movement

‘Iranian Vote’ by Rajesh KC (b. 1967) Kathmandu, Nepal. Works for The Kathmandu Post newspaper, chairman of the Cartoonists' Club of Nepal.
 
"A cartoon aimed towards wrongdoings published in the national newspapers will be seen by millions each morning and the combined laughter of these readers could well be loud enough to shake the chair of the Head of the State...that is the way things are now in this country, which is in a historic transition."
 
 
 
  
 

'Faces of the Press' by Tjeerd Royaards

Image: VJ Movement

‘Faces of the Press’ by Tjeerd Royaards (b. 1980) Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His work is published in Dutch newspapers De Pers, NRC Next and de Volkskrant and Germany's Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung.
 
"The editorial cartoonist is one of the most avid defenders of freedom of expression, because editorial cartoons cannot exist where and when this freedom is not present."
 
 
 
 
  

'Battle for Free Press in Mexico' by Dario Castillejos Láscarez

Image: VJ Movement

'The Battle for Free Press in Mexico' by Dario Castillejos Láscarez (b. 1974) Oaxaca, Mexico. Works for Imparcial de Oaxaca newspaper.
 
"I think that criticism is an indispensable element in any democracy, so I see my drawings as projecting a critical view seasoned with humour, with the idea of someday getting governments to serve the people instead of using them."