76 Thought-Provoking Illustrations About Modern Day Issues That You’ll Need To Look Twice To Understand
Davide Bonazzi is an illustrator from Bologna, Italy, who creates thought-provoking images about modern-day social issues. He is a full-time illustrator and has been drawing since he was a child. "In a way, I've created illustrations from childhood, from the moment I could hold a pencil," he told Bored Panda.
The artist combines digital media with the textures of real objects to give his drawing ideas a unique signature look. When asked about inspiration, he said: "I think inspiration is overrated: the most important thing in order to get good creative ideas is concentration. Illustrators don’t have time to wait for inspiration, they have to find it. The more I rack my brain and stay focused on the subject I have to illustrate, the better ideas I get. This said it’s plenty of things that inspire me in everyday life, especially related to visual arts, films, graphic novels, documentaries, etc."
"The thing I like the most is the possibility of drawing all day long, working on thrilling projects, and sharpening my skills every day. I feel lucky to have turned my lifelong passion into a real job. I know this may sound strange to many people, but these cartoon drawings make me feel alive and happy!"
Below you can find some of his meaningful artworks. Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
More info: davidebonazzi.com | Instagram
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Everyone took this the wrong way! I meant that LGBTQ+ love was acceptable.... Incest and large age differences aren’t okay....
Load More Replies...I see 2 brides on top of a wedding cake, admiring the rainbow. The 2 women below are them, embarking on a difficult journey.
Oooh, I think you're right. I didn't see the women below as them, but I think they are.
Load More Replies...I love this, it's like the wedding at the top of the hill paved the way to allow others to follow their hearts.
Is there anywhere to go after you get to the top? Honestly I'm not being a d**k but the question did come to mind....
If everyone really, I mean REALLY, understood science, then we'd have no racism.
True. The current racist US president is attempting to shut down scientific progress as a whole. Quite terrifying.
Load More Replies...We're all human and should all be treated like it, but I also think we are all different and should embrace our heritage.
Embrace our own heritage without negating another's....
Load More Replies...There is no such thing as race. The idea of race has been create to separate and oppress.
Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air You better watch out There may be dogs about
Agreed. We discard the Middle East and characterize the people with such a shallow notion and forget they don't deserve to have their lives stolen.
Load More Replies...I've been to the middle east on a Peace Keeping mission it was a beautiful place
The bubbles are empty so maybe it's all in her mind.
Load More Replies...She is burdened by what others think of her. She should make what they think of her none of her business and be happy.
I can relate to this but I try to make myself stand up straighter because I don't like getting upset in public
What i do when people judge me? Tell em to f**k off. They dont know me, they shouldnt be judging. I dont know you, your opinion on me doesnt matter to me.
It looks like she is the only POC and the workplace is making assumptions based off of just that.
3 people in the shadow but only two in the car... is death in the back?
Its interesting they are texting and driving, probably foreshadowing their demise. Red dots mimicking blood around the frame
They've FINALLY made it so that hands-free devices are the only ones legal in our area. I'll pull into a parking lot to return a text safely, I wear a headset for calls that generally are me saying "I'm driving, can I call you back?". Let's arrive home still breathing, please!
Load More Replies...People die when others text and drive. People can't even text and walk
There is no third person. It's shadow of one person and two car seats.
Load More Replies...I think this one is a reflection on how the advent of nuclear bombs has created a strange lasting peace. The cost of war has now become too high and peace has sprung from this.
She’s breaking the mold..., not staying in the confines of what is expected.
Love the message here- living an explorative lifestyle instead of staying withing the boundaries of competition set by society! (Though, of course, there are case where competition is healthy)
The crossed fingers behind their backs signify King's X. The gesture was originally meant as a sign of truce or immunity, but has warped to mean immunity from keeping one's word. All sides talk about putting a freeze on the arms race, but secretly intend to keep right on producing weapons.
Oh I hope to see this in my lifetime. The machines of war become just things in a museum.
I think this depicts the Cold War (which is officially over.. but never really has been over)
Load More Replies...This would look great as the introductory image to the Cold War section of a History textbook!
interesting that the plane is probably what knocked him down from the sky, and now it's "helping him..." definitely a statement on environmental injustice, but is it also about the government pretending to help but really steering us from what's "natural"?
I have no idea who this Davide Bonazzi guy is, but Davide, if you're reading this: You got yourself an(other) admirer. Wonderful art, my friend.
Love this. Plant one idea in the brain and take care of it (watering), then soon a whole forest will be present. Love it.
Is this about Alzheimer's??? The plant is the last hope of remembering something and the man watering it is the full effort of the person's will to remember it.
Alzheimer’s. Dementia. He will continue to “water that same plant” (repeat the same activities of daily living) until someone comes alongside to “irrigate” (or stimulate) different parts of the agricultural (neural) system. The scale or size allow indicates that he’ll need a community of support to promote “growth” (regeneration or reconnection).
He's looking for a seal to eat?! Why is that sad? "So Hungry" might be a better answer.
Load More Replies...Polar ice caps are melting and polar bears are dying
Load More Replies...i.ve said it before and i'll say it again: going to college is a lot more expensive than going to uni.
Load More Replies...i feel like this means that people pay for peoples education... like, people pay for rich dumb peoples education
Trying to afford education for your child/grandchild. It's going to be so expensive.
Knowledge is actually free--available to anyone who desires to search. It's "education" that's so freakishly expensive!
Load More Replies...So many apples you weren't supposed to eat!
Load More Replies...Yeah. Like if eating fruit is sinning then i pray for a lot of people today!
Load More Replies...Love this one. Shows gow far removed we are from the natural world... the garden of Eden, in our midern lives.
In this modern concrete life, the Garden of Eden was lost; no matter how many forbidden fruits (apples) they ate, it no longer matters, God didn't bother to punish them anymore. Or another way of thinking, that Adam and Eve tried to eat many forbidden fruits to get punished out of that Eden Zoo.
how easy it is to forget we are one nation when we are so busy fighting over whos american.
People have pulled in different directions since the dawn of time. Doesn't mean we will fall apart.
True. But in a democratic republic, the two sides have drifted SO far apart, that no one person can adequately "represent" all of their constituents. So the divide gets worse every single year.
Load More Replies...Racial integration on one side of the broken boat versus the other monochromatic side. Modern day, civil war-esque issues?
Maybe something to do with retirement? Part of your umbrella (protection) sailing away?
We can still help each other and have enough comfort for our selves
Load More Replies...Did you know that if you donate organs they do it when you're brain dead and on a ventilator, not heart dead... And the way of measuring brain death is different in different countries.. So there is a chance you will still have some awareness, and the guidelines say not to use anesthetic! I took myself off the organ register!!!
where did you get that information from? any sources for that?
Load More Replies...Going into debt for your wedding, not a good way to begin a life together!
Marriage carries tax benefits and saves big bucks. If people wanna spend a fortune on a wedding itself, that's a whole 'nother thing.
Load More Replies...It does not need to be expensive if you stick to what really matters: inviting the right people!
Yes! Hubs and I got married at the village park, by our old minister, with only 20 people. My dress was 15 dollars and I dyed it after the wedding and its now a summer dress. Cheap, economical, fun.
Load More Replies...Doctors pushing drugs. The pharmaceutical companies issue free samples to doctors and encourage them to presribe them to their patients. People can be taking drugs they don't even need. It's a money game.
Not really--see all the broken drugs at the base of the mountain? Looks more like failed attempts at finding a cure for something--but they keep trying.
Load More Replies...To me, it looks like he's busy discovering the universe, but still thinking about the little gray person he maybe left behind
Man seeking woman. Woman seeking man. Man seeking man. Woman seeking woman. Or someone who is just desperate and will take anything they can get.
Load More Replies...So, what are the albums here? I see the Velvet Underground, Bowie, maybe Queen(?), the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Miles Davis. White bars on red might be New Order. Or Talking Heads? But what about the two with close-up faces? (Maybe one is Lou Reed?) Or the one with the crescent moon and stars?
Nobody commented about it so just pointing out about the profile of person made out of all the records combined
I think this delves into the way music is treated these days. Such an abundance and thrown on the floor like it’s nothing when done. MP3 world. perhaps I’m wrong.
the music that one listens to constitutes one´s personality. I love this one!
Music today doesn’t seem to shape us as much as it used to - I’m talking about you Kris Kross!!! 😂
Will the child help his aging father when that time comes? The separation between the shadowy figures does not indicate that.
I'm witnessing my dad's dementia, and watching his brain sink beyond the horizon. This one hurts.
Information overload - we're over-saturated with information from social media, the news etc. It makes the mind crowded, and hard to form an unbiased opinion.
Which is ironic because alternative viewpoints have never been more accessible.
Load More Replies..."Fake news", Kanye and Trump Tweets... those exclamation marks should be question marks... social media is always questionable and full of baloney
Art and history have no appeal to ordinary life. For granny, it is just everyday chores, food to be prepared...
Lookin into your brain you may not see something but it is still there waiting behind the curtains
They landed here, but did not embrace the beauty of the land or the people here before them. Although, land conquest is an age old human issue
Everybody acts like the natives were all peaceful with each other before the white man got there. I have some bad news.....
Load More Replies...This world we are born into is a cage/jail. Some are able to get free from the wheels of the machine
With all the chaos and evil here, maybe we should flee also. But could we make a better place for long?
I'm souprised this is a one, not to be rude it's not the breast one in this article
It can also be a breast cancer ribbon, they look very similar
Load More Replies...He's never getting back into society. He won't fit through that social barrier in the hourglass
Load More Replies...Thank you for those who explained this. My first though was,as a cancer, that it was saying we attacked donuts as a reference to overeating sometimes being used to cope with strong, uncontrollable feelings, of with those with the star sign cancer may have. (Not saying cancers are the only ones coping with emotions, just that it's said we feel them strongly, if you believe in star signs. I don't, personally, but it's interesting.
Attempting to replicate the spirit.. Consciousness... via dna manipulation
I feel like how this proves technology has taken over for the bad, students are on their phones when they should be paying attention. Hence the Wifi symbol.
Yes, as you can see, not a single student in this picture is paying attention to him. Or maybe the classroom being arranged as a wifi symbol means that the internet has enabled people to learn anything, anywhere, any time. He stands at the origin point and his students had to enter the wifi-shaped area to attend his class.
Load More Replies...It was Charles DeGaulle who said that "counties don't have friends, only interets." I'm very happy that American and Isaeli interests much more frequently than not coincide with one another. It's a good thing for the World.
And now they are killing kids together. Such a good thing for the world.
Load More Replies...Do the US and Israel arm wrestle over much? I thought the 2 countries are bosom buddies...
I think that this pic can be interpreted in a few ways that will mostly reflect the opinion of the beholder rather than the objective truth, and from my knowledge the 2 countries are in a high collaboration both as a front and behind the scenes
Load More Replies...It's the same 90% of them support his genocide
Load More Replies...Todays careers. While we used to be able to climb the ladder, retire with a company.... now a days there is no such thing as employee loyalty... they'll pull the ladder right out under you.
It's very interesting because without knowing the creator's intention you can interpret it as either people giving your opportunities and helping you climb up to success or it can be the exact opposite while you try to climb to success, bigger hands and more powerful are preventing you
They r actually helping hm to go up. Providing one step at a time. The caption is community service.
Showing the world is one giant Jenga tower with all the animals on it. The more that we wipe out the more unstable the tower. The only piece that is truly not needed it humans.
Not sure where you get that analogy--that's a DNA strand--looks more like a warning against "playing GOD" with nature?
Load More Replies...Showing that our interference with nature through genetic modification is ultimately going to do us in
How our interference with nature through genetic modification is ultimately going to do us is
I think its saying that scientists potentially removing our genes building blocks, editing with crisper or whatever, could cause humanity to come falling down
It depends on the type of disability as to what is affected. In either case, wheelchairs don't work well on the beach.so that's your body imprisoning...learning disability or othe maladies that affect the brain/communication are hard to deal with, too.
Load More Replies...Getting expert advise on how to build an ant-farm for people. Just look at the houses that are going up these days and you'll see the similarity.
I think it is that EVERYONE collects data these days from every person. And individuals don't know/understand/care that it's happening constantly everywhere they go.
For instance, you're in a store and take a picture of a cute handbag to send to your girlfriend, but don't buy it. And then that item then shows up in your advertising "feed" when you're on the web again...
Load More Replies...How are they wanting privacy while they always got their mug up in someone's camera lens, and highly opinionated to boot!
Load More Replies...They do this in Norway too... I know most of the world thinks of Norway as a rich country where people can get help wherever, but that only used to be true... In one of our neighbor cities they closed down the hospital. If you have an emergency in that town now you have to drive (yes drive, they won't pick you up by helicopter or anything cause that costs too much) about 90 km to get to the nearest hospital. This is northern norway. In the winter, this distance can last for about 4 hours if it snows (which it usually does). Last year someone died because they couldn't get treatment in time but the government scoffed it away...
People laud Canada too but our healthcare is an absolute abomination. That's not just my opinion. Lookup world healthcare rankings and we are pathetic.
Load More Replies...Listening is a lonely process of navigating a maze of thoughts and language.
People learn about the world through what they see in film?
Load More Replies...Wow! You guys actually think robots have the ability to think while they're just elaborate adding machines crated by humans.
Including all the people irrespective of there country race nd gender.
All the people, or just the ones with access to cash? Cash to hear the same prof say the same things every year instead of having it all online. What a scam.
Load More Replies...Are you saying that is Caitlyn Jenner? No men Keith, unless that is you dressing in drag. LOL
Load More Replies...I think they're Twitter hashtags, but I'm not sure how it's getting them out of a hole...
They're trying to climb the social ladder using hashtags.
Load More Replies...This image represents stereotypes good God not everything you see is racist.
Sorry, but this racist image or social justice cause is simply showing targeted ads based on social economics and location. That said, if this white guy was a felon, he'd get the same ads to - p**n shop, bail bonds, high interest rates, and rent or lease a car... so it's really smart ads vs dumb ads hitting their targets. Those that google p**n shops, bail bonds, loans, and low car leases will all get the ads on the right regardless of race... sadly this artist doesn't understand googles algorithms.
That’s a USB port symbol. People would rather play golf on their phones than get off the couch and experience life!
Because that man is clearly sitting at home on the couch on his phone, not experiencing life. I think it's about how it's impossible to plug in a USB port the right way on the first try, a "hole in one".
Load More Replies...I liked the art but I have to admit a lot of the messages went totally over my head....
These works are amazing. They are very thoughtful and poignant. Fantastic!
great stuff.. definitely one to watch.. important concepts.. we should think about this work.. not just look at the art aspect.. i think that's the real purpose here ..
I liked the art but I have to admit a lot of the messages went totally over my head....
These works are amazing. They are very thoughtful and poignant. Fantastic!
great stuff.. definitely one to watch.. important concepts.. we should think about this work.. not just look at the art aspect.. i think that's the real purpose here ..
