Legendary local cartoonist snapped up by European agency
Local cartoonist Nanda Sooben will have his cartoons presented to an international market after a viral cartoon earned him an overnight job opportunity for a European news syndication.
NANDA Soobben will soon be making many people laugh with his witty and edgy cartoons on an international scale after a European news syndication picked up on his recent Donald Trump cartoon which went viral this month.
The cartoon is like any other he has produced while sitting at his studio at his art school, the Centre for Fine Art Animation and Design in Morningside. It shows an old Donald Trump sporting his signature hairstyle saying, “I am not Mickey Mouse.. I will make America great again,” while a faceless voice in the corner says, “You are not Mickey, You are Donald!!”
Amazed by how quickly the cartoon went viral, Soobben has a new respect for social media, as he was offered the job within a day of putting his cartoon on Facebook and Twitter. “Social media gave me an opportunity like no other. There was a time in this city where only the Indian community knew my work. When I did my early cartoons in the 80s it was out of passion, I actually couldn't make a living out of it, but it took me to where I am today, because I never stopped. I worked as a sign writer, painting on high buildings with a brush despite being a trained graphic designer because I was not the right colour for that job. It was only when I went overseas that I was recognised as an artist. At that time I was called the “Coolie Cartoonist”, but I took that with a pinch of salt.”
When Soobben left the country under pressure because his cartoons were “against the system”, his heart remained in South Africa and he continued to bring awareness of the apartheid system through his work whilst working in America.
“This position is really affirming, especially since I've been a cartoonist for 30 years and have been doing it for free for many years. I do it because I want to create awareness, and usually they are published in community newspapers and I put them on my Facebook and twitter so it is funny that I have been doing the cartoons for free but will now be getting paid in Euros for my work.”
While Soobben's work will be exported to a European audience, the artist will remain in Durban running his art school. “The school is my studio and I have always worked around campus, even when we were based in Albany Grove I'd sit out with students coming in, passing by and chatting. I brain map the cartoon before it comes out on canvas so don't get distracted by people. I actually enjoy chatting while working,” he said.
