Profile of Jonathan Shapiro on Famous Like Me

Zapiro is the nom de plume of South African political cartoonist Jonathon Shapiro, whose work appears in numerous South African publications. He has also published collections of his work in book form.

Born in 1958 to Gershon and Gaby Shapiro, he studied architecture at the University of Cape Town but found it unsatisfying and moved on to the art campus, Michaelis. Shortly after this another complete change of life occurred, he was conscripted (unwillingly) into the army for two years. After his civil service he applied and was awarded the Fulbright scholarship to study cartooning in New York for two years.

The first Zapiro character was a little fellow named Preppy, whose main characteristic was his "kuif"* or fringe and he commented on issues that went on around school.

In 2003, Zapiro made headlines when members of the Faith and Politics Institute, an American organisation, lodged complaints against three of the cartoons at an exhibition for visiting American congressional representatives as well as members of the institute. The cartoons in question depicted former American president Bill Clinton and US policies of “trade and not aid”, President George W. Bush with a raised middle finger in a comment on American unilateralism, and the third featured a stance on the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Examples of Zapiro's work (called "Zapiros") appear daily on the website of South African independent news publication, Mail & Guardian and weekly on the site of the Sunday Times .

Zapiro has published nine cartoon collections: The Madiba Years (1996), The Hole Truth (1997), End Of Part One (1998), Call Mr Delivery (1999), The Devil Made Me Do It! (2000), The ANC Went in 4X4 (2001), Bushwhacked (2002), Dr Do-Little and the African Potato (2003) and Long Walk to Free Time (2004).

He has held solo cartoon exhibitions in New York, London and Frankfurt and many in South Africa. Has also exhibited in numerous group shows locally and internationally.

He has been an invited participant in cartoon events in Cameroon, Botswana, Australia, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Italy. In 2003 he was Africa’s only representative amongst cartoonists invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and he attended the forum again in 2004 and 2005.

In 2001 he became the first cartoonist to win a category prize in the CNN African Journalist of the Year Awards. In 2003 and 2004 he won the Mondi Newspaper Award for Graphic Journalism.

In 2004 the University of Transkei made him an Honorary Doctor of Literature.

Jonathan Shapiro is married to photographer Karina Turok and has two children, Tevya and Nina. He has three sisters Yvonne, Julia and Rosemary and a brother, Alan.

• Afrikaans word meaning "fringe".

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