Drawn to freedoms

His illustrations may be in black and white but what political cartoonist Dan Perjovschi draws isn't as simple or clear-cut. For his latest solo exhibition, which opened on Friday at Para/Site Art Space, the Romanian artist, 50, came up with an image that says: 'Communism is bad. Capitalism is bad. China is good.'

'My projects, in general, are critical of capitalism, in particular the excesses of capitalism,' says Perjovschi. 'But I also lived under the dictatorship [of Nicolae Ceausescu], I know what it means to not have the freedom of speech, not have the possibility to travel at all and not have books, so I'm critical of both.' He adds that any political system is complex, and that other than communism and capitalism there may be a third option in the future, as suggested by his 'China is good' remark. 'Maybe what China is doing now is the solution, let's see, we don't know. It's a mixed situation with the good and the bad.'

But according to the artist - whose works are widely shown internationally including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tate Modern in London - the notion of democracy remains 'interesting'. 'The plurality of vision is good,' he says. 'If a system can be not so money obsessed, if it can have not so big a difference between the very rich and very poor, if you can build up a very strong middle class, then that's the winning ticket. My kind of art can only flourish in democracy, not in other kinds of society.'

Para/Site's executive director, Alvaro Rodriguez Fominaya, also curator of the show, says this exhibition is not about pleasing the establishment.

'This project is about shaking our core beliefs,' he says. 'The critical discourse that Dan Perjovschi is building is extremely relevant to Hong Kong. His reflection on contemporary society, and on communism and capitalism are connected to his personal experience - he comes from Romania - and to Hong Kong.

'But after all there is a sense of humour and irony that will shock self-conscious types.'