French cartoonist Stephane Peray, aka Stephff, will today bring the caricature of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, if not the man, back to Thailand through an exhibition of his works at Thammasat University's Pridi Banomyong Institute.

About half of the 100 cartoons on display are either satires of local politics first published in The Nation or pieces critiquing international issues that were printed in newspapers in 25 countries.

Among the former is "Thai Monopoly", the cartoonist's favourite, which features Thaksin in a Monopoly board game.

"I used a board game as a metaphor. Some metaphors are used too often, like the Titanic, so I think it's something new," Peray said.

As expected, Thaksin is a star of the exhibition entitled "Weapons of Mass Derision: Stephff's Cartoons", which will run until December 1.

"Lots of local works are about Thaksin since the selection was done long before the coup. There are only a few pieces on Sonthi [Boonyaratglin] and Surayud [Chulanont] that I just updated in the last minutes," Peray said.

The cartoonist, who began drawing for The Nation in 2003, confirmed that Thaksin was his favourite character.

"Yes, I'm missing him in the sense that he is always an easy target. His attitude, emotions, and his stupid ideas are all easy to make fun of. I'll never get enough of them," he said.

The ousted premier is drawn as the shark from the animated film Finding Nemo in a drawing Peray named "Finding DEMOcracy". In a more recent sketch, Thaksin is discovered as a square-faced giant catfish in a river near the golden triangle as he tries to re-enter Thailand.

Yet after the coup, Peray said he had no choice but to draw new political figures.

"Come to think of it, it is always interesting to start a new character," he says, adding Prime Minister Surayud may have the potential for repeat appearances. "Surayud's emotions are under control, but he's started to be too soft and doesn't deliver as much as people expect."

However, all characters take time to develop. For political cartoonists, it is necessary to wait and see what the politicians do.

Internationally, Peray loves mocking George W Bush as much as he does Thaksin. For the Asian region he believes former Philippines president Joseph Estrada makes a very good target.

Peray's works at Thammasat offer a summary of how he sees the world and some of Thailand's public figures. The cartoonist will meet with fans in an open discussion and sale of his works on Saturday, November 18 from 1pm-6pm at the library.

Veena Thoopkrajae

The Nation