As a cartoonist who had their first political work published in 2010, I have been covering the various iterations of the Tory government for the entirety of its 14 years in office, which looks likely to be ending very soon. Considering how many prime ministers, chancellors and health secretaries we’ve had in that time, along with seismic events such as the pandemic , Brexit and Prince Harry’s frost-bitten penis , it has felt a lot longer. Throughout this period, as we’ve hopped from one catastrophe to another, people would often say to me, “Oh, this must be great material for you!” to which I will usually reply with some waffle about the paradox faced by those in my profession.
We can despair as citizens at the state of the nation but be brimming with ideas as cartoonists. But another issue for us topical scribblers has been how on earth to react when things have been too ridiculous. Where do you start when satirical metaphors have become our lived experience – schools literally crumbling and rivers swimming with excrement? One solution is to recycle works from the past and give them a contemporary twist.
Paying homage to old masters by hijacking their visuals or themes to create something new. This is essentially what I have done in my upcoming exhibition, Snowflake’s Progress , which opens in London in July. For this series, I’ve borrowed from the 17th century artist who, through his images, defined Georgian London: William Hogarth .
The UK has a rich tradit.
