“The cartoon may be described as a conundrum, a graphic phantom that does not always signify what it implies, a medium that at once affirms and denies. It possesses pictorial qualities that facilitate the codification of messages in succinct, subtle or hidden form.” - Dele Jegede, 1999
Graphic Stories was a retrospective look at the kinds of stories that emerge and can be made visible through illustrations in mass media. Focusing mainly on cartoons, from their earliest appearance in Nigeria during the 1940s through to the 1980s, it revealed the ingenuity and approaches by which cartoonists produce meaning between image and text through cartoons featuring social commentary and critiques on everyday life in Nigeria. This illustrative survey highlighted the way graphic artists have challenged dominant narratives, including the subsequent reactions to their work.
