I trust everybody who reads a magazine now and then has heard of Kamagurka. This multi-talented soldier of love – “Kama” being “love” and “Gurka” being “soldier” (although British readers will be more familiar with the spelling ‘Gurkha’, the famous Nepalese warriors who still serve in the British army to this day – Joe) – the illegitimate child to Pieter Brueghel, James Ensor and Roland Topor, has conquered printing presses across the globe with his own twisted and surreal sense of humour. And it’s not just cartoons – in his native Belgium Kamagurka also finds an outlet for his madness in painting, music and stand-up comedy, albeit his own particular blend of each.
(“Wings on the Tour? I’m from the Lebanon.” – One of Kamagurka’s cartoons borrowed from his site and (c) Kamagurka)
And this particular mix of creativity and attention deficit runs in the family, it would seem, as Kama’s children have started to rear their own not-quite-ugly heads.
Working under her own name, his daughter Sarah Yu Zeebroek has been publishing illustrations in newspapers like De Morgen and NRC Handelsblad for some time now. She also keeps a blog of her own work, which clearly shows the influence of her father, especially of his paintings, but also exhibits a melancholy that was completely absent from Kama’s work when he was her age. Sarah’s illustrations combine a certain wisdom and tenderness with ecstasy and confrontation that is quite often exhilaration, sometimes clever, but never boring. I wouldn’t want to put it that this is the result of the two cultures she grew up in, but in any case her work is of a certain constant beauty that would deserve our attention, even if she weren’t Kama’s kid.
(an example of Sarah’s art, borrowed from her blog and (c) Sarah Yu Zeebroek)
Sarah’s brother, Boris, also has inherited his father’s creative streak. His work, which can be seen on his blog, resembles that of his sister’s quite closely in its use of colour and deformed shapes. Like his father, however, Boris seems to strive for effect and meaning by combining very direct artwork with dreamy, absurd or contemplative text. His art is of a rougher quality than Sarah’s, and his output is not as prolific as hers, but here too, there are some actual graphic gems waiting to be discovered.
(“Parlando” by Boris Yu Zeebroek)
As a perfect musical backdrop for their art, Sarah and Boris also play in their own band, the Hong Kong Dong, a peppy combination of punk rock and what would be called new wave when dad was still young. But nevertheless, quite fresh and fitting. If Kama’s not pleased with and proud of them, well, he should be.
Wim Lockefeer is a lifelong fan of comics art and culture from all round the world but especially from his comics-centric home of Belgium; you can read more regular observations from Wim on his blog, The Ephemerist.
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