What’s Wrong With Today’s Society Captured In 32 Brutally Honest Illustrations By John Holcroft

There are a lot of issues in today's society. Addiction to social media, devaluation of workers, unhealthy lifestyles, and that's just a few of them. A lot of us don't even notice these problems; we either ignore them or don't run into them at all. However, artist John Holcroft tackles them head-on and illustrates the issues of today's world in his satirical and honest art.

John has been illustrating since 1996. He works and lives in the UK. His past clients include Guardian, Telegraph, Times, BBC, and many others. John Holcroft's art looks simplistic, but it hides a deep and complicated meaning. It's pretty amazing how he can portray such serious topics with one simple illustration.

This Illustration Is Going To Lose Me Some Followers

We got hold of John to ask him some questions about his art: "I started illustrating professionally in 1996, originally studying graphic design in the early '90s, but the recession made it impossible to find work especially as technology was going through a big change. I decided to illustrate using acrylics on board, which changed to digital in 2000. Having created a few different styles, I settled on my current style in 2010 and have been progressing ever since. I get my inspiration from observing life in general. I’ve always been an odd-ball and seen things differently so I think it shows in my work," said John when asked what inspires him to create and when he started to create art.

Illustration About Mental Health At A Time Of Social Isolation

"I don’t set out to lampoon different parts of society and I’m not on a crusade to solve all problems of today. I’m an illustrator and it’s how I make my living so I need to create show pieces to attract work and the work I create has to resonate with people."

One Day This Will Be Yours

Enough Said

John shares what issues in today's world he is most passionate about: "I’m not more passionate about issues than anyone else; however, I don’t like injustices of any kind so I usually focus my concepts on the things most people care about, such as corporate greed, climate change, and politics. If I had the power to change the world I would try to put an end to corrupt governments and corporate giants having control. I would make sure money is put in the right places, i.e.: tackling climate change and I would have a fairer system that cares for ordinary people."

A Piece About The Fight Against Climate Change

"My style is conceptual and can sometimes be satirical, but I can normally adapt to the brief I’m working on. The look of my style was originally supposed to emulate the old-style screen-print posters, but it has evolved in the last 10 years and nowadays, I try to keep it simple but hard-hitting," shared John when asked to describe his style. He is a freelance artist and does a lot of commission work.

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Climate Emergency And How We Are Dealing With It

We asked the artist what sort of reactions he gets from people when they see his art: "Most people appreciate the concepts in my work and give me positive feedback, whereas others either don’t quite get it or take great offence and give me grief. The point of my work is to get you thinking and discussing. Of course there will be those who disagree with my points and that’s fine because it keeps me in check."