8.3″x11.7″; digital collage; 2024. Courtesy of the artist.
COLLAGE ON VIEW
What Do Cheeky Monkeys Do?
at the Museum of Caricature in Warsaw, Poland
6 September 2025 only as part of the 4th annual Zine Fair
The series, ‘What do cheeky monkeys do?’, consists of about 50 illustrations depicting monkeys performing various activities (e.g. buildings and castles, collecting starfish, stealing the moon, picking mushrooms, playing guitar by the fire or catching butterflies). The images of monkeys were found by the artist in old albums, whose author is, for example, the 18th-century French naturalist and philosopher Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon. The background of the collages always features Polish postcards from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The monkey has many meanings and connotations, depending on the culture, era and context. It can symbolize both wisdom and cunning, as well as stupidity, imitation or lust. Some find them funny, others find them astonishing or discouraging.
8.3″x11.7″; digital collage; 2024. Courtesy of the artist.
In the Chinese zodiac, the monkey symbolizes curiosity about the world, intelligence and creative energy. It is the sign of seekers and explorers, as well as geniuses. The monkey always appears where it can decide for itself, create new opportunities and shape events. This is also true of the monkeys in these collages. It is not without reason that the artist calls them cheeky monkeys, because they seem to be more than just monkeys, and their old portraits only reinforce this feeling. The series refers to a popular motif in the art world–singerie (from the French word for “monkey”) featuring monkeys dressed in human clothes and imitating human behavior. In the presented series, however, the monkeys do not want to be humans, they do not wear their clothes. They often do things that humans cannot do. They crunch stars, grab the moon, spray water like whales or walk on rainbows. The monkeys may imitate humans, but they are more daring in these activities. They are not afraid! They do not limit themselves to one cotton candy, they take two, make cherry earrings, swing on giant hyacinths or ride unicorns. They are rascals from whom we can learn a lot.
This pop-up exhibition was co-organized by Waw4Free.
(text adapted from material provided by the artist)
INFORMATION
Museum of Caricature
11 Kozia Street
00-070 Warsaw, Poland
+48 22 827 88 95
Hours:
Saturday, 6 September 2025 only, 10AM-6PM
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