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Polish artist Pawel Kuczynski is a well-known artist who likes to express his thoughts through his mind-provoking illustrations that depict our modern society. Each colorful artwork by the artist illustrates the perils of our current society and points out relatable feelings and experiences along with a good dose of irony and sarcasm.

Kuczynski’s works are themed to include topics such as societal pressure, mental health issues, and the negative effects of social media addiction. In his illustrations, one can often notice that his artworks tend to portray the loneliness that some might experience while immersed in the world of social media, from forever chasing “likes” to the constant upkeep of online personas. These last few themes have become even more prevalent given the current global pandemic.

More info: Facebook | pictorem.com | teepublic.com | pawelkuczynski.com | Instagram

#1

95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Christine Bounds
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can't get out of the hole if you have to use your means to get out just to survive.

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Pawel’s works have been previously featured on Bored Panda and you can find them by clicking here, here, here, and here. Now that you have the goods, pandas, let us know which of the previous posts was your favorite and why! Each post contains more works from Pawel so without a doubt it's quite a collection of works that he has created over the years.

We also reached out to Pawel to find out a little bit more about him and his works. First, we asked the artist if he had any major influences in his life that might've helped him to develop and refine his style.

“I have always been interested in illustration and posters. In my youth, the Polish Poster School had the greatest influence on me. I recommend that you familiarize yourself with these works as they were of great influence for me. Also, there are master workshops that get combined with great ideas, which is always the most important point of reference for me.”

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Very powerful photo! And next time you will judge a woman for using this way to go up, remember that there is a guy that didn't give her other options! We tend to judge only the women

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Bored Cats
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean... you have to have something in there for them to mix it

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The artist has always been into art as most of his life pretty much revolved around it. Pawel Kuczynski had graduated from Fine Arts Academy in Poznan has been rewarded with more than 140 prizes and distinctions thanks to his incredibly thought-provoking illustrations that comment on social, economic, and political issues through satire.

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Art, in any kind of form, takes a lot of time not only to practice but also to produce, therefore we asked Pawel how long it takes him to fully finish his illustrations.

“The most important and time-consuming thing for me is the idea. Sometimes it takes days. The finished work itself takes about 1-2 days, usually.”

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Luna
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not so cut and dry, IMO. I wish the media would portray more of the countless acts of selflessness police officers do on a daily basis.

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The artist also sells various merchandise featuring his art. If you take a look at his social media you can see that he has prints and even t-shirts that could make for a cool gift to wear or hang on your wall! The 44-year-old artist has also hosted various exhibitions for his deep illustrations but he is not a big fan of them.

Being an artist is not easy, one can easily encounter a lack of inspiration, burnout, etc, so we wanted to ask Kuczynski about his ideas for the illustrations.

“The search for an idea is a long and arduous process. It is mainly based on observation and linking insights. An attempt to synthesize many factors."

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As we mentioned before, sometimes creative work can cause quite a burnout, therefore we asked the artist how he dealt with that as well.

“Of course, especially if I'm working on ideas that deal with a narrow topic. I work as a press illustrator and sometimes I have the impression that I am illustrating the same topic again.

However, I try to do ‘hygienic’ mental work. At a leisurely pace, with some rest time, during which I am mainly engaged in sports. Exercise effectively clears and resets the mind.”

We also asked Pawel about how people reacted to his work.

“I touch on various topical and controversial topics. I try to do it with distance and a pinch of salt... but also with multi-layered meaning, so that everyone can read something for themselves. The reactions vary, sometimes very nice, sometimes aggressive. This proves that my works are not indifferent.”

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Turnip and a Frog
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

MPO means Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Oczyszczania, which is Municipal Public Utilities, mostly trash collecting, unless it’s not evident from the picture.

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The creative process is not easy, but there are many enjoyable parts to it.

“Each stage of the creative work is important. It is exciting and frustrating to look for an idea as well as to be finished with certain work.”

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We also asked about the inspiration behind the artist's Instagram account.

“Social platforms give you the opportunity to reach your audience. I'm happy to share my works in these places. I observe the reactions to my works with curiosity. In the case of Instagram, I would like to point out that the Instagram account is not run by me. It's my fan's initiative.”

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Turnip and a Frog
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is unfortunately the reality in my country now, the governmental propaganda glorifying those who lay waste to the Constitution, ridicule basic human decency, violate good practice in lawmaking, tear social bonds, undermine social trust, rewrite history. And thousands swallow it line, hook and sinker.

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Artists tend to get motivated by a lot of things such as curiosity, the search for beauty, or even meaning. Therefore, we asked Pawel about that too.

“I'm a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. Diploma in drawing.

I have been educated in many forms of artistic creations, from graphic arts through painting, photography, and even sculpture. This is what education in Poland looked like. Each young artist had to learn about a wide range of creative expressions.”

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Mateo Buysse
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If the energy of a person runs too low to still be in persuit of certain passions in life, we might as well be going to the grave already.

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Nadine
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unfortunately with busy societies, easiest way is to plug a child in front of screens. Yet it's the most damaging thing for a child's brain, addictive and makes it even harder for parents to break from since the kid will stop responding to normal queues that should be thought. Vicious little cycle!

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Mateo Buysse
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sometimes we lose our drive in life and give it up, just so we can go and become successful in society.

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Essex Eagle
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Having a opinion that dosnt conform is dangerous, despicably if you write it down

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Znaya
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wearing masks protects you and others around you, if you don't want to wear a mask that is your choice, please don't visit establishments where it is posted you must wear a mask and get upset when they request you wear one, it's posted and it's their business, thank you.

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Michael Mitchell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel like this is actually about how we wrap and cover who we really are to put the mask of what we think people want to see on. That's just my opinion.

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Tamia
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait huh? All of these comments are so confusing. The other art above this piece have comments with a "hidden" message and all everyone has for this one is "wear your mask"? This person is completely wrapped in medical tape and then has a mask that is the lower have of a person’s face. I'm thinking maybe this piece has something to do with identity. I don't know how else to elaborate on it, but this piece has to mean more than just "wear your mask".

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Mateo Buysse
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wearing a mask these days shows our real humane side.

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Ariel Comly
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The real message is not about a virus or the pandemic in any way. It has to deal with hiding your true self and pretend to be someone you are not just so society will accept you as a person. Life is a stage if the director (society) doesn't like you then you are not accepted and treated like a monster just because you are different. Society especially in the US wants everyone else around them to practically be puppets that do what they want to do and say what they want to hear. They don't want you to be yourself. If you are yourself you are not like them and are practically ostracized for it. To hid your true self behind something that nobody but you cam see. Society only wants to hear what people think of the mask mandates. If you take a look at one of the previous pictures (where the tv/media spouting government approved propaganda is the hand mixer scrambling peoples brains) if you think its about actual masks you were probably never bullied for being your true self.

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Rachel Posavetz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Breath and speech (or communication) are the foundation of what constitutes human life anatomically and socially. A mummy (the metaphorical dead) may experience a semblance of human liveliness through the guise of the ability to breathe freely and the option to speak freely.

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Patricia Abbey
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This appears to be the only sarcastic one so far. It's good. I'm not usually a fan of sarcasm as it either dryly tears at another person's feelings or in the case of my husband's family, they all blandly homogenously practice sarcasm and it's very uncreative.

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Inne Maes
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2 years ago

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well thats all people care about nowadays isnt it. no mask, no rights, not even treated as being human. same will be for people who prefered not to get vaccinated, those will all be stripped and stolen from their human rights. they dont care about your problems, your face, all they care about is your compliance.

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Inne Maes
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2 years ago

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and they brainwash you thinking its for your 'safety' if it was for our safety, they would abolish guns, cars that can speed over their limit, and make sure everybody has a social income, so nobody would be homeless on the street freezing to death without food or clothes. ;;they care about our safety'' biggest lie in the history of human kind.

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Mateo Buysse
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

multimedia can make it so certain people will grow up way to fast ? or can make it that certain adult people never really mature ? Not sure about many of those drawnings their meaning to be honest.

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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layyla victoria
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For anyone outside of Poland - this is a reference to the state TV, which has become a full on propaganda for the government, twisting the facts for their benefit.

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Mateo Buysse
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The media might blame the civilians way to much for certain things beyond their control, in effect blinding them for what is really going on.

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Shine Caramia
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because paper books are so much better than e-books. My kid carries one Chromebook that has all of her lesson plans instead of a load of dead trees with content often outdated before the ink dries.

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95 New Illustrations By Artist Pawel Kuczynski Put Their Finger On The Wounds Of Today's Society

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Note: this post originally had 82 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.