As his current show "E is for Exhibition" demonstrates, Anton Kannemeyer will spare no one in attacking racism and abuse of power K is for "kak stirrer." It's also for Kannemeyer. Not J.C., the Afrikaans literary critic and professor who died in 2011, but for his son Anton whose new show, E is for Exhibition, opened last week accompanied by the publication of a new book, Pappa in Doubt.Since founding Bitterkomix with Conrad Botes in 1992, Kannemeyer has been an anti-authoritarian artist gleefully willing to spit in the face of sacred cows with little concern for the consequences. As his alter ego Joe Dog, his first targets were the religious dogma, superiority complex, racism and sexual prudishness of the Afrikaner generation represented by his father. In a comic strip included in both the exhibition and the book, titled My Nelson Mandela: A short political history of a white South African in rotten English, Kannemeyer describes his father as a bully, an authoritarian man-child who was sexually confused and an unpredictable alcoholic.He says that when he grew up, "I thought Afrikaans was the most important thing in the world because he told me how important his work was and that I should shut the fuck up and stay out of his way. In a way that made me hate Afrikaans."story_article_left1In recent years as a gallery artist Kannemeyer has produced works of a more political and topical nature, particularly in his Alphabet of Democracy series. R is for Respect depicts an erect black penis floating above a mob wearing T-shirts depicting Zapiro's familiar showerhead Jacob Zuma, shouting: "Respect the president's penis."It caused some controversy with familiar accusations of racism being flung at Kannemeyer by critics and government representatives. However, as Kannemeyer sees it, his response to the 2012 controversy surrounding Brett Murray's The Spear is a democratic exercise. He hopes that the painting will not result in another The Spear-style protest."I have the right to speak about my president and to criticise him. I think it's good for presidents to be criticised. He's my president and so I can do that."As for painting pictures of penises, Kannemeyer has plenty of experience. "I have been caricaturing and making fun of white dicks for as long as I can remember, so why am I not allowed to make fun of black dicks? Why is this sacred? It doesn't make sense to me."The question of who gets to speak about what is one that has often come up in discussions about Kannemeyer's work, with several critics arguing that there are things that white artists should not address. But for Kannemeyer the targets are those in power, and what he sees as the "systemic racism embedded in how the world is set up".In the wake of the controversy over The Spear, perhaps South Africa is now settling into a situation where we accept, in the words of Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief Gérard Biard, that "growing up to be a citizen is to learn that some ideas, some words, some images can be shocking. Being shocked is part of democratic debate. Being shot is not."full_story_image_hleft1E is for Exhibition is full of examples of the disdain that those in power in post-apartheid South Africa show towards those on the ground, irrespective of race. This is particularly emphasised in R is for Revolutionary, which shows Julius Malema and Zuma cutting a cake at the ANC's centenary celebrations above a quote from Joseph Conrad's Under Western Eyes, which ends with the line: "Hopes grotesquely betrayed, ideals caricatured - that is the definition of revolutionary success." It's a sentiment that one could argue Malema might now agree with.Pappa in Doubt is a follow-up to 2010's Pappa in Afrika, a satirical take on Hergé's Tintin in the Congo, which examines white fears and prejudices in post-colonial Africa. It makes for uncomfortable but jarringly humorous reflection on the stupidity and ignorance of the fears that keep racism ingrained in the psyche of many, in spite of the dismantling of its structural policies.As always, whether touching on topical issues or reflecting on his own white privilege, Kannemeyer's work is anchored by his personal position, bolstered by the many authors he reads and artists he admires. These range from Polish writer Tadeusz Borowski to Charles Bukowski, Slavoj Zizek, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Bessie Head and Thomas Bernhard.story_article_right2He admits that he is inclined to intentionally cross the line of good taste but also realises "there are certain things I wouldn't do because I don't have the access or the experience. I'm not a black guy who lives in the township, I don't have that angle and I cannot represent it. It would be a big fucking lie ... I would never present the perspective of a black person because that would be such a fucking stupid thing to do. I can only represent from my perspective."In reducing complex concerns to often simple and bold compositions, Kannemeyer is following in the footsteps of those artists who inspired him, "the people who were most daring and doing the most outrageous things, things that I thought were not allowed. That's the kind of art that inspires me. I like art that shouts and says, 'Here I am!'."The question is whether any of the objects of his artistic fury are likely to notice the arrows he's shooting at them. After all, the constitution protects freedom of speech and "allows us to say whatever we want", and Kannemeyer thinks that is how it should be. Generally he has managed to remain controversial and provocative without attracting the kind of outrage provoked by The Spear, and for him that is a perfect situation."The comic artists in South Africa say, 'Ja, but Anton's a fine artist,' and the fine artists say, 'He's actually a comic artist,' so everyone forgives me for not being either one or the other and I kind of slip in-between the two. I must say I'm thankful for that and I prefer it that way."E is for Exhibition is at the Stevenson Gallery in Joburg until November 13 2015. 'Pappa in Doubt' is published by Jacana (R295)..