Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, better known as the Malaysian cartoonist Zunar, will hold his first solo exhibit but it won’t be in his native country where he has been arrested and censored by the Malaysian government. His first exhibit will be in London.
Mr. Zulkiflee has been detained, has had his office raided and books banned, and is currently fighting a legal battle with the Malaysian government. More than 6, 000 miles away, though, visitors to a gallery in London will have unfettered access to his work – which takes a stab at everyone from the Prime Minister’s wife to Malaysia’s judiciary – when the 49-year-old holds his first solo exhibition next month.
“I am very happy my work is being recognized internationally,” Mr. Zulkiflee said in a telephone interview with The Wall Street Journal. “It sends a message to [the Malaysian government] that people are watching [them].”