Shaun Yeo

Shaun Yeo
Born1974 (age 49–50)
Winton, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealander
Area(s)Cartoonist, Illustrator
Notable works
"Crying Kiwi"; The King, the Crown and the Dragon
https://shaunyeo.wixsite.com/yeo-cartoons

Shaun Yeo (born 1974) is a New Zealand freelance cartoonist and illustrator living in Invercargill.[1] He produces daily political cartoons for the Otago Daily Times.[2]

For 28 years, from 1991 through to 2019, his cartoons were published in The Southland Times newspaper.[3]

"Crying Kiwi", created in response to the death of 51 people in the Christchurch mosque shootings

As well as his work for The Southland Times, Yeo also supplied cartoons, illustrations and caricatures to many of the newspapers and magazines owned by Stuff Limited, working full-time for the company from 2001 through to 2018. From 2013 through to 2018 Yeo was the political cartoonist for the Sunday News. In May 2018, Yeo began a career as a freelance cartoonist and illustrator, with a focus on children's book illustrations;[4] in 2006 he had written and illustrated his own book, The King, the Crown and the Dragon.[5]

In 2009, Yeo was a finalist at the Qantas Media Awards in the Best Art category[6] and in 2017 was named a finalist in the Cartoonist of the Year category at the Canon Media Awards.[7] In 2018, he was named a finalist in both the Best Artwork/Graphics and Cartoonist of the Year categories at the Voyager Media Awards.[8][9] In 2019 and 2021 he was again named a finalist in the Cartoonist of the Year category.

Since 2015, his work has been collected by the New Zealand Cartoon Archive, part of the Alexander Turnbull Library which wrote "... Yeo’s colourful work ... combines a comic art style with political and social commentary..."[10]

Yeo's illustration "Crying Kiwi" was created in response to the Christchurch mosque shootings on 15 March 2019, and was widely printed and shared in the aftermath of the attacks. Described as "perfectly capturing this shocking and horrendous tragedy",[11] in the first two days after the shootings it was viewed by 3.4 million people.[12]

  1. ^ "Yeo, Shaun, 1974–". natlib.govt.nz. 1 January 1974. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Perfectly in Toon". The Otago Daily Times. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  3. ^ Yeo, Shaun (30 August 1991). ""Homegrown cartoon hero", (article)". The Southland Times.
  4. ^ Chilton, Chris (17 January 2019). "The Art of being Yeo". What's On Invers. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  5. ^ "The King, the crown and the dragon". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Times wins award". Retrieved 7 March 2019 – via PressReader.
  7. ^ "2017 Finalists". Voyager Media Awards. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  8. ^ "2018 Finalists". Voyager Media Awards. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  9. ^ Yeo, Shaun (2018). Stardust & Substance, The NZ General Election of 2017. Wellington: Victoria University Press. pp. 143, 152. ISBN 9781776561971.
  10. ^ "Pokémon Go". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Kiwi cartoonists' capture national mood after Christchurch mosque shootings". Stuff. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  12. ^ Searle, Jamie (17 March 2019). "Shaun Yeo's cartoon of crying Kiwi touches the hearts of millions globally". Stuff. Retrieved 19 March 2019.