Ygreck highlights 25 years of caricatures at the “Journal”

See above the full interview of Karine Gagnon with Yannick Lemay, alias Ygreck, as part of the show Karine’s Notebookbroadcast on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m., on MAtv (channel 9 [Hélix et illico]609HD [Illico]) in the greater Quebec region.

Major media cartoonists can be counted on the fingers of one hand in Quebec. Yannick Lemay, alias Ygreck, has been fortunate to have been practicing this profession for 25 years, which calls upon his talent both as an artist and as a keen observer of political life.

• Read also: 25 years old Newspaper: here are 10 caricatures that marked Ygreck

“I am one of the last dinosaurs,” says Yannick Lemay about this livelihood, which he perceives as a great privilege. Already, he says, to earn a living with his art is exceptional. To have a widely consulted forum […] which allows us to make little jokes and blow the whistle on politicians, it’s quite exceptional too.”

Of course, you can find a lot of critical material in images on social networks. “But it’s often in a certain bad taste, or it’s a little too radical,” he observes. So I think there is room for humorous or humorous criticism, but one that does not seek to denigrate others.”

The caricature, he likes to point out, is a column that is 100% read, because everyone sees it, we cannot escape it.

It is also “a nice valve for public opinion,” he analyzes. It helps to de-dramatize things. We bring a little funny side to situations which are often unfortunately very serious.”

• Listen to the interview with Yannick Lemay, alias Ygreck, cartoonist for the Journal de Montréal on the microphone of Alexandre Dubé via QUB radio :

Decisive meeting

Yannick Lemay describes himself as “a little guy from Limoilou” who, from the age of 8 to 15, lived in the countryside, in Sainte-Croix de Lotbinière. “The countryside still appeals to me a lot.”

For as long as he can remember, he has always drawn. And the visit of a great-uncle living in the United States, and who worked for the Disney studios, represented a turning point. “He drew, it fascinated me, and from that moment on, I always wanted to draw.”

From primary school, he created a 30-page comic strip. In high school, he studied at the Seminary of the Marist Fathers, and his propensity for irreverent drawings went down rather poorly. Several were confiscated.

At CEGEP, Yannick studied visual arts with the intention of joining a graphics program afterwards, a project which did not materialize.

Model in his spare time

Then he turned to bars and restaurants. He was a bartender at the Aviatic and in bars in Grande Allée. In the evening, he modelled, after meeting a fashion photographer who had noticed his potential.

He also participated in filming as an extra, including three films by Robert Lepage and in the first episode of Throw and count.

Attached to a major agency, Yannick settled in Toronto for a year or two. We could see him in several catalogs and campaigns for Sports Experts, Simons, where he was also an essayist.

With the Carmelli agency, he participated in numerous fashion shows in shopping centers where the great Quebec couturiers were present. He also remembers, with a smile, of having participated in several “bobette parades at Beaugarte”.

At one point, he even attempted an incursion into Greece, considered the gateway to Europe in this area. After a few weeks, however, he realized that it wasn’t for him and that he wouldn’t make a career out of it.

Forensic sketch artist

Then, becoming the father of a son at the age of 26, he quickly understood that night work was becoming complicated. At the same time, his desire to draw remained very alive. Behind the bar, each piece of paper or placemat was an opportunity to express it.

Having always had admiration for sketches judicial officers who drew portraits in courthouses, he decided to try his luck. He obtained authorization from the authorities, and on his first visit, journalist Jacques Teasdale, from TVA, noticed him and bought his drawing.

He did this job for two years full time, and traveled to several courthouses across Quebec.

During these years, he covered the Scorpion trial, the dismantling of the Hells Angels bunker, the juvenile prostitution scandal in Quebec, the appearance of Mom Boucher in Montreal and that of the murderer Karla Homolka. He thus produced around 4000 drawings.

Then between two sessions, he began to create caricatures for pleasure, he who was very interested in politics.

Favorite characters

This is what led him to present his work to the Quebec Journalwhere he has been a cartoonist for 25 years, and for 10 years at Montreal Journal also.

Over the years, favorite characters have regularly returned to Yannick’s drawing board: Mayor Andrée Boucher and Mayor Régis Labeaume, very colorful personalities, are among them. He even published an album with the caricatures of Mr. Labeaume, “an excellent audience”. Little anecdote: it was also the latter who acted as celebrant at his wedding.

At the federal level, Justin Trudeau represents one of his favorite “victims,” as he calls them. “Even if it’s not bad, it can still be a little annoying sometimes,” he says.

Most, however, intend to laugh, to the point that Yannick frequently receives requests from politicians who wish to obtain the original drawings.

The way of working has also evolved a lot. So he no longer draws on paper. Everything is now digitized.

Although he calls himself a dinosaur, Yannick Lemay is convinced that the profession of cartoonist will survive. “There will always be this need for the little visual shot that brings this little reflection,” he maintains, adding that artificial intelligence will never be able to replace the sensitivity of an artist.

Notice to the curious, Yannick publishes, on the website of the Newspapervideos where you can see the creative process leading to the caricatures that will be published.