Cartoons contain a message to the people

---

 - By Shihara Maduwage

One of Sri Lanka’s leading cartoonists, Winnie Hettigoda, speaks to Daily Mirror about his views on cartoon as medium for social and political change, the role of cartoonists and the future of political cartoons as well as his upcoming pioneering exhibition ‘Digital Brush’.


Q: As a veteran cartoonist, what are your thoughts on the influence of cartoons in making a difference in society?
To be honest, I am tired of drawing cartoons now because the public doesn’t take an advantage out of it. They look at it, they admire it but they don’t realise the message. They praise me but go back and act contradictory to the message I was trying to convey. Sri Lankans like to dig their own graves. They are extremely passive and selfish. So with the growing apathy of today’s society, drawing cartoons seems pointless. Cartoons are not just drawn for aesthetic pleasure but with a specific purpose, to convey a certain message. It is different from a painting, which one can hang in their living room and admire. The point of a cartoon is to promote social and political change and that doesn’t happen anymore.  Because people don’t realise the deeper meaning conveyed by cartoons, they don’t have an influence in society anymore.

" I am extremely disappointed with the current situation. Political cartoons became popular in the 1940s. Those days the cartoonists recognised their role was social and political criticism. Their aim was to rid society of corruption and other evils. There were no cartoonists who sang the praises of the rich and elite "

Q: What do you feel about cartoonists and their role in today’s society, compared to the earlier times?
I am extremely disappointed with the current situation. Political cartoons became popular in the 1940s. Those days the cartoonists recognised their role was social and political criticism. Their aim was to rid society of corruption and other evils. There were no cartoonists who sang the praises of the rich and elite. The cartoonists identified with the poor working class and represented their problems in their art.
However, now things are very different. Most of the cartoonists have hit rock-bottom. They have completely forgotten the true meaning and the purpose between drawing cartoons.

They have no principles and no set ideologies. Some of them draw cartoons for several papers, representing various political ideologies. They don’t have a stable voice of their own. They are similar to puppets as they do the bidding of politicians. These politicians have bought these cartoonists and have repressed their freedom. For money, these so-called cartoonists would do anything, including selling off their own country.
However, there are a few who are true to their art and if not for them, the country would be in a disastrous situation.


Q: In your opinion then, what should the main goal of a cartoonist be?
 A cartoonists’ aim should be to provide direction to society. I am not saying they should only criticise but they shouldn’t mislead the public. They should have a clear vision, set principles and their own voice. As different political parties come into power, we as cartoonists come under various pressures.
When this government was in the opposition, I was beloved. But now that they are in the ruling party, I am hated by them. That is the reality but we as cartoonists shouldn’t change our political stance and ideologies to suit them.
Talent is also important. Those without talent are insecure and will cling on to anyone who would provide security for them. Those cartoonists sell out easily. However, if one has true talent he wouldn’t be afraid of politicians or anyone else. They will not sell their art for money.


Q: On a personal note, what is your political stance?
Equality is my philosophy. I believe that most of the political and social problems are caused by vast inequalities in society. Privatisation is one of the main causes for inequality in society and we are suffering because of it.
Areas such as education, transportation and health should be under the government and should be open to the public. My aim is to change this dire situation through the social satire presented in my cartoons.


Q: What is the future of cartoons as you foresee it?
Right now, the future looks bleak to me. One problem is we don’t have a medium to publish our cartoons. Most papers are reluctant to publish our cartoons. There used to be something called “alternate papers” but they are no t there any more.
Now, the technology of ‘animated cartoons’ have emerged in other countries, and this technology is becoming increasingly popular with political cartoons as well.
But the thing is it is much cheaper to import these to Sri Lanka and dub them, than to produce them here. So I cannot see Sri Lankan cartoonists being able to make use of this technology, unless it is for a personal hobby.

Another problem is cartoons are becoming stale. Every cartoon should be novel and deal with current events but with the emergence of social media and the internet, any news becomes stale news within a matter of hours. But we shouldn’t treac that as an excuse. Instead we must adapt to it.The Internet has vast amount of possibilities. For example, uploading my cartoons on Facebook was a good idea. It receives more views and has a global audience. The younger generation have the knowledge in their hands but they don’t possess the spirit of political activism. They don’t care about social issues. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that there is a bright future for our art.

Digital painting to revolutionize art culture Art exhibition by Winnie Hettigoda

In a pioneering move to revolutionize the art culture of the country, veteran cartoonist Winnie Hettigoda is holding a digital painting exhibition, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. Named as ‘Digital Brush’, the Show will be held from September 24-26 at the J. D. A. Perera Art Gallery (46, Horton Place, Colombo 7).
Speaking about the show, Hettigoda said that the exhibition features around 150 artistic paintings created using computer software, including human portraits, landscapes, caricatures and abstract paintings.

“The specialty about this is, regular canvas paintings are analog but these paintings are digital,” he explained. “They are created using a Red, Blue, Green colour scheme as opposed to the traditional Red, Blue, Yellow colour scheme.”
“However, the computer software is only a tool. A great amount of talent and creativity is needed to create these paintings. A person who cannot draw using a pencil will find it even more difficult to draw using the computer mouse. One needs to be painstakingly meticulous to create these paintings,” he added.
Speaking about the history of digital art he said the world was introduced to this technology in 1967. Even though it is wide-spread in other countries, the culture of digital art has limited popularity in Sri Lanka.

“That is why I wanted to do this exhibition, I want to make both artists and art-lovers aware of this technology,” he said. “A lot of people ask me why I didn’t do an exhibition with cartoons. But I wanted to introduce something out of the ordinary and make a change in how people view art.”Hettigoda studied digital art at the University of Colombo in the late 90s. He loves working and experimenting with computers to bring his art to life and believes that artists can make use of new computer software to improve their talents.“It is important to learn this technology to present your art in new, innovative ways,” he claimed. “You must always think out of the box and be open to trying new things, especially at the rate the world is changing.”

Hettigoda invites the public to attend his exhibition and witness the digital painting technology.


Pix by Kushan Pathiraja
Winnie's famous iconic image of himself