Abu's World: An Exhibition Celebrating Journalist-Cartoonist Abu Abraham's Oeuvre
An exhibition of renowned Indian cartoonist and journalist Abu Abraham’s work, titled “Abu”s World,” will be held at Ernakulam”s Durbar Hall from March 22 to April 21, 2024. The event will be organised by the Lalithakala Akademi in association with the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala.
In his centenary year, the exhibition, for the first time, presents Abu”s oeuvre as a cartoonist and journalist across six decades. Through his political cartoons, drawings, caricatures, and writing from the late 1940s until his passing in 2002, an interesting glimpse into the political history of India and the world is being offered. The exhibition will showcase his contribution to political satire and commentary through words and cartoons.
Attupurathu Mathew Abraham, popularly known by his pen name Abu Abraham, was one of the most celebrated cartoonists in India. His works criticising authoritarian politics and corruption turned him into an active political voice during the latter half of the twentieth century. He worked primarily in pen and ink and created black-and-white images using simple, sparse lines.
Abu Abraham”s ‘cerebral’ cartoons with captions carrying sharp wit and wordplay generating humour fell him under the legion of his peers such as EP Unny and OV Vijayan. His cartoons find place in acclaimed publications of his time, including The Guardian, The Observer, Tribune, The Bombay Chronicle, The Indian Express and Blitz.
His strip, ‘Salt And Pepper’, featuring a crow and an elephant as protagonists, ran for almost two decades in various publications. Some of his books, which compile political cartoons, include Abu on Bangladesh, Games of Emergency, and Arrivals and Departures. Abu Abraham died in 2002 at the age of 78.
