Stephff’s Cartoons and Tribal Art Gallery

From starting off as a photo-journalist to becoming a collector of art, French cartoonist Stephane Peray has lived life to the fullest.

“I’ve been drawing cartoons since I was a young kid,” confesses Stephane Peray, a 48-year-old Bangkok-based French cartoonist who has been living in Thailand for the past twenty-three years. “I was a photo reporter in Asia and one day in 1993 some journalist friends of mine launched a new monthly magazine in Phnom Penh and I asked them if I could draw political cartoons for them.”

And so Stephane, or Stephff, as he is known to his almost five thousand Facebook friends and other hundreds (or thousands) of people who read his cartoons, started a prolific career as a cartoonist for Le Mekong, a now-defunct French language magazine about Cambodia.

After his debut, step-by-step, Stephane Peray added more and more magazines and newspapers to his portfolio until he finally succeeded in making a complete living as a cartoonist in 1997. “I sold my photographic equipment at that time as a symbol of reaching the point of no return. Then, in 1998, I got my first contract as an international daily cartoonist with another new newspaper launched in Dubai called The Gulf Today, which is still being printed today.”

Stephff is of the opinion that for a cartoonist to have a good sense of satire is even more important than drawing well. “Drawing skills can always improve over time, but the sense of satire must be an inner ability. What good cartoonists need to be able to do is to immediately see the ridiculous side of everything and then transpose it on the medium of their choice.”

Just like writers who need to read many book in order to write the next bestseller or just like movie directors who need to digest a huge amount of movies to see their work awarded prizes, for cartoonists, looking at the work of other cartoonists is primordial. “You need an open mind to be a successful cartoonist,” says Stephff.

Anyone following Stephff’s editorial cartoons in The Nation or on Facebook can realize that Stephane Peray’s focus is not only Thai life and politics but also world affairs. “My main interest is the biggest news of the day in the world. Actually, it’s not really my main interests, it’s more about choosing a variation of topics that won’t make the readers bored.”

Stephff’s Facebook page is quite popular and his interaction with his readers is proactive, social media being the place where not only he displays his work, but also sells it. Speaking about the importance of staying connected, the French cartoonist says that “direct feedback helps to measure what is really funny for the readers.”

With some exceptions, especially in Western European countries, editors rarely choose the funniest cartoons but rather the most politically correct ones. And this is why social media has become such an important tool for all artists: “You can measure the gap between what you can publish in mainstream media and what can be really funny, but politically incorrect or even of bad taste, for young readers who never buy newspapers anyway.”

Apart from being a talented cartoonist, Stephane Peray is also a collector of tribal art. “I have collected tribal art for twelve years and I needed to start to sell in order to collect more. Most serious collectors become dealers one day or another. It’s not an easy business as it’s a very small niche and only a few crazy people around the world indulge in it.”

So, in June 2012, he opened “Stephff’s Tribal Art,” a primitive art gallery where apart from African, Oceanic and Asian tribal art, he also sells his own contemporary art and cartoons. “The African pieces are mostly from Nigeria, Mali and Tanzania. The Asian art on display is mostly from Borneo and India while the Oceanic statuettes and masks are mostly from Papua New Guinea.”

In Stephff’s opinion, the visual art scene in Thailand is getting better and better. “There are some seriously good artists in Thailand. However, when an artist is really good, he becomes very expensive very fast because they are not so numerous here.” In comparison, in the West, there are many more excellent young artists who, due to the fact that the market is oversaturated, are affordable to the large public.

Referring to his projects for 2013, apart from bringing funny and witty cartoons to his readers and social media followers, Stephane Peray is also planning to collect his best cartoons into a book.

“I’m collecting my cartoons in a book more because my readers and editor are frustrated that I haven’t come up with one than for my personal satisfaction,” he says. “Many fans have asked me so many times so I must make them happy.” We wish him great inspiration.

“Stephff’s Tribal Art” gallery is located at Supreme Ville, 38/56 Yenakat Road, Tungmahamek, Bangkok 10120. It is open from 1pm to 7pm every day, seven days a week. You can also follow Stephff’s daily updates on Facebook or call him at 02 6713535 to make an appointment.

Photography by Nick McGrath

An edited version of this article was initially
published in “AsiaLIFE Thailand” (February 2013)