Censorship creates new languages in the arts as artists strive to circumvent it and raise their voices against authority. They often do so imaginatively with humor, irony and historical reference. Al-Monitor’s Culture Alert for February features several exhibitions across the Middle East in which artists look at politics through their self-colored lenses.

A satirical regard: Pierre Sadek (1938-2013) was not only one of Lebanon’s leading political satirists, he was also one of the most prolific cartoonists in the Middle East. He produced more than 30,000 cartoons offering witty insight into the politics of Lebanon and the region. A collection of his works will be on display for almost three months at Beirut’s Sursock Museum.

“Pierre Sadek: Picturing History” opens Feb. 7 and runs through April 30. Al-Monitor will be there to provide a full report.

Parodies regained: Muderris Ziya Bey, grandfather of the Turkish artist Gazi Sansoy, was a satirist who dared to mock Abdulhamid II, one of the most enigmatic and vengeful sultans of the late 19th century. His grandson Gazi is keeping the family tradition alive with “Epochs,” a show that just opened at Istanbul’s Anna Laudel Gallery. Sansoy’s multi-layered works borrow from Ottoman cultural heritage, including Levni’s miniatures and well-known pastoral and religious scenes from the West European painting tradition, reinterpreting them in pop art colors and popular images from today. The results are bold satirical works in which Janissaries mingle with half-naked models and a faceless Ottoman sultan rides toward a figure resembling Russian President Vladimir Putin, who strikes a pious pose dressed in red medieval garb in front of a pile of euros.