Petr Lukimson, Israel. Exclusively to VK
On May 10th, at the Museum of Caricature and Cartoons in the Israeli city of Holon, an exhibition “Friends in Arms” will open, devoted to the 100th anniversary of Azerbaijani caricature.
It is expected that Azerbaijan will be represented at the openintg ceremony by the chairman of the Caricaturists' Union of Azerbaijan, Dr. Bairam Gadzhizade, and the secretary of the Artists Union of Azerbaijan, Professor Agali Ibragimov. Israel will be presented by the head of the museum, Galit Gaon, the well-known caricaturist Boris Erenburg and the authorities of Holon.
The exhibition caused interest among Israeli artists and journalists because Israel has many caricature lovers, and interest in Azerbaijan is growing in Israel. Boris Erenburg intends to hold his exhibition of Israeli caricatures in Baku in the future.
- My romance with Azerbaijan began in 2010 after the well-known events around the Turkish fleet "Freedom for Gaza" - Boris Erenburg says. In those days I was participating in the international contest of caricaturists in Turkey. The atmosphere was tense. The jury awarded first place to a direct anti-Israeli caricature, but that was not the end. After the contest I was attacked by prominent caricaturists of Turkey, Syria, Iran, and other countries. They accused Israel, including me, of all the bad things in the world. What could I do if Israel waa losing the information war at that moment? However, soon I received a letter from an unknown-to-me Bairam Gadzhizade. He invited me to be a member of the jury of the international contest organized by the Caricaturists' Union of Azerbaijan. I was surprised and happy, but my positive answer could bring great troubles to Bairamov. He replied that he wanted to have an Israeli on the jury and didn’t take into consideration political, religious or national barriers. I accepted the invitation. In 2011 I came to Baku as a participant of the International Journalists Contest, and the visit was really impressive. I was astonished by the open, welcoming, tolerant people of Azerbaijan, and the cultural level of the country. We should be honest - the West often considers a Muslim culture, especially in the sphere of art, as backward. But in Azerbaijan many talented poets, writers, composers, and artists live. We agreed to organize several exhibitions of caricatures and call it “Friends in Arms.” Why so? Because caricature is an arm. And we want to show that we, caricaturists, are not foes, but friends in arms.
