Penang-born caricaturist Mohd Azmi Mohd Hussin is out on a mission to dispel the perception that caricature is more than street art.

He aims to draw 250 live caricatures in 24 hours, to earn a spot in "The Malaysia Book of Records".

Born in Butterworth, Penang, Mohd Azmi is a freelance cartoonist.

Since devoting himself to caricature drawing in the last four years, he has published two books -Tanjong Life in 2015 and The Little Mamak in 2016.

Mohd Azmi has vowed to produce the caricatures from 10am onwards on March 18, until the next day, near Penang's famous "Nasi Kandar Beratur" stall outside The Kapitan Keling Mosque.

He will draw monochrome portraits of the public, directly onto A4 papers by using black and grey ink (shading).

"I am confident I can produce a caricature every three to five minutes, and will only take a short break of 10 minutes once every four hours," Mohd Azmi told reporters.

"The drawing is free and will be temporarily placed in Dewan Makam Noordin of The Kapitan Keling Mosque and displayed to the public when we receive The Malaysia Book of Records certification," he added.

"The public can collect their portrait caricatures for free after the challenge ends, they can also ask for delivery but need to pay for the postal cost," he said.

Donations to go for charity

A donation box will be available on the spot for members of the public to chip in money, and the funds collected will be channelled to three charity organisations, namely the National Cancer Society, National Kidney Foundation and  Penang White Cane Blind Society.

"Caricatures are normally considered only street art but I hope to raise its status to national level and expose the local community to the art of caricature," Mohd Azmi said.

"I used to produce more than 100 drawings within 12 hours but that is for profit-making purposes," he explained.

He concurred that the record making attempt would be challenging as he may feel tired or sleepy during the bid, but vowed to push through. 

Also at Mohd Azmi's press conference yesterday was Penang executive committee member Chow Kon Yeow, who said the state government is supportive of the artist's challenge. 

"We will provide Mohd Azmi  the necessary assistance in his quest to secure a spot in The Malaysia Books of Record," he said.