Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
This Cartoonist Creates Thought-Provoking Illustrations Covering Relevant Topics Related To Our Society (30 Pics)
Interview With Artist
Koren Shadmi is a talented New York-based illustrator and cartoonist whose works invite us to think about and discuss the realities and issues of modern life. Whether it's constant surveillance or addiction to social media, the artist manages to illustrate every topic in impressive drawings.
Most of the selected works have been created for different well-known magazines, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Washington Post and more. These illustrations cover relevant topics related to society and the imperfections of modern life.
Have you found yourself in some of the illustrations? Let me know in the comments! And don't forget to upvote your favorite works!
More info: Facebook | korenshadmi.com | Instagram | twitter.com | behance.net
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
"Corporations lobbying to silence proof of global warming."
L.E. Misiak 3 years ago
https://www.cfact.org/2022/06/07/is-it-ethical-to-purchase-a-lithium-battery-powered-ev/
David Brown 3 years ago
There are far to many corporations that feed the ever worsening global warming problem the world faces today. They want to keep it quiet at all cost because they all know the necessary changes they need to make will cost them far more. It's a nasty circle jerk with no end in sight.
William Hicks 3 years ago
The oil companies knew about it decades before it reached the public.
Alana Voeks 3 years ago
And when it is finally shown, they turn around and blame the masses, when it's a list of like 17 corporations producing some 80% of the greenhouse gasses.
Vonev Kalinsk 3 years ago
We WILL DIE IF WE DONT STOP CLIMATE CHANGE NOW IF THE BARE MINIMUM OF 3 DEGREES OCCURS THAN HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS WILL DIE AND PROBABLY AT LEAST A BILLION MORE WILL DIE IN THE AFTERMATH IF YOU ARE AMERICAN OR EUROPEAN OF FROM SOME WEALTH COUNTRY YOU WON'T DIE BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO WATCH FASCISM KILL
Bored Panda got in touch with Koren to ask him more about himself and his creations. The artist revealed that he was born in Israel and came to New York in his early 20s to study illustration at the School of Visual Arts, where he is now an instructor.
Other than illustrations, Koren's other big passion is comics, and he has had several books published. The latest one is a graphic novel biography of Bela Lugosi.
RELATED:
#2
"Fired."
#3
"Illustration for the NY Times styles section from a few years ago. The column dealt with the taboo of discussing your salary when in reality it’s for a workers’ benefit to know what their colleagues are making."
Miller Smith 3 years ago
You have th legal right to share your salary and to ask others as well. Get fired if you do? That's a lawsuit and a realization that the company was not for you.
Caleb Burrows 3 years ago (edited)
You missed a grate opportunity to put some pink monkey underwear on one of them
Steve Stone 3 years ago
Eh. I make more than my new manager and she resents me for it. My job would be easier and better if she didn't know.
David Brown 3 years ago
I've always heard discussing salary's could result in termination but I've yet to see it happen. I feel that employees deserve to know what their colleagues make. It keeps everything nice and transparent. Companies hate it because when everyone knows what everyone else makes they get racked over the coals until their employees feel like they're all being treated equally.
Randy Perez 3 years ago
Taboo is hard to overcome, especially salary. Jealousy and hard feelings develop among employees. Regardless, it needs to be more mainstream. We need to be adults and understand the issue lies with who signs the checks not who gets the checks
Koren started his journey as an artist around the time he was 9. He signed up for comics classes in Israel. The teacher was one of the only people in Israel who was a full-time cartoonist - Uri Fink. Around the time the artist was 15, he became Uri’s assistant. "I learned a lot from him about the basics of telling a story through comics. He also had an incredible library of comics in his studio and I would take out new books every week. He introduced me to some of the greatest artists and writers in American comics, like Frank Miller and Alan Moore."
#4
"Imagine a world after civilization is gone. Will anything survive after us humans? Will nature reclaim our cities and towns? Will an epidemic be the end-all of humanity? Probably not this virus, but maybe the next one?"
David Brown 3 years ago
Mother nature takes back what is hers in the end. Look at places like Chernobyl and similar. Much of it has already been reclaimed. I think that the movie I am legend gives a pretty accurate depiction of what the world would look like if most of all of humanity was wiped out.(minus the raging dark seeking monster people)
BadCat 3 years ago
Nature will definitely reclaim our infrastructure, and quickly. Humans emit some sort of chemical or gas that slows deterioration of buildings. It only takes about week for that process to start, I think. (that's how my mom explained it so if that's wrong, I was taught wrong. I'm open to corrections). There will always be viruses of some sorts, whether plant, animal or human variants. Since there are still isolated tribes I don't think we'll be extinct by an epidemic that easily. However, we're not immune to extinction as we want to think we are.
Kelly Kenrick 3 years ago
There was a tv program called A World Without People where it would take different scenarios (like how nature would come back, or what animals would do) if people disappeared from earth. It would start with a day, a week, a year, ten years, etc. quite interesting
GUSANO GRANDE 3 years ago
Don't forget we are apart of nature, we're just screw up almost everything we touch.
#5
"Social media addict."
David Brown 3 years ago
Most of society is this picture. I saw two women waking together side by side with their phones in their faces this morning. One walked face first into the non sliding part of the door and the other one dead centered one of the concrete bollards outside. They didn't even miss a beat. Phones went right back in their face as they were walking off.
In his later teens, the artist discovered European comics artists such as Moebius and some of the underground folks like R. Crumb, and, as Koren put it himself, that expanded his view out of the superhero ghetto. "When I came to New York I started to focus more on the art of illustration. I tried to keep both flames going as much as I can, and never really stopped."
#6
Ele V 3 years ago
Can somebody explain please? I don't get it and I have a feeling it's sth awesome..
Charley 3 years ago (edited)
it's showing that people with access to higher and better/thorough education have the opportunity to go far, whereas people with a worse education available have a much harder time. generally showing the difference in education privelege
Load More Replies...
Earl Grey 3 years ago
To me, this is all about privilege trumping honest effort. A2C64D85-8...b-jpeg.jpg 
L.E. Misiak 3 years ago
Support vouchers to send children to their choice of schools. Lower income kids would have access to better schools out of poor neighborhoods with bad schools with high drop out rates. If a child wants to learn, they should be given EVERY OPPORTUNITY to do so!
#7
"When a patient is in the terminal condition it’s up to the family to decide if they want them to spend their last days in the hospital, or in the more comfortable and familiar environment of their home. A difficult subject to tackle, but I did my best. "
David Brown 3 years ago (edited)
It is a tough decision to make. Personally I'd rather be at home drugged up in comfort instead of being in the hospital drugged up with someone checking on me every half hour keeping me from being able to rest. Not only that but being able to have the choice to pass away at home where you can do it with dignity surrounded by loves ones and not doctors and strangers.
Alana Voeks 3 years ago
I feel like the only way you don't die with dignity is if you do something incredibly stupid (ie, the morons who walked off cliffs when Pokémon Go first started).
Load More Replies... Pamela Tapia 3 years ago
And not to be morbid, but if you are leaving your house to someone, a death in the house must be declared prior to a sale, which can lose buyers, and lower it's value.Sad, but that's the way it is (at least in the state we live in.)
Octavia Hansen 3 years ago
I did this with both my parents and more recently my husband. Difficult as it is, it's a massive comfort to me now that I was at their side, kept them comfortable and loved them very much at the very end.
A lot of Koren's illustrations touch on problems or difficulties that our society faces. For the artist, it is a source of frustration. "I've recently grown so frustrated with Facebook that I finally closed my account. I would also close my Instagram if I could but my work relies on it. Most social media is a big waste of time and just gives you the illusion that you are socializing and spending time with others, while in reality, you are stuck in front of a glowing screen."
#8
"New hope after four years of destruction."
Raven Sheridan 3 years ago
It's referring to the hope of newer, greener, government policies, after Donald Trump's four years as President, where he favoured the oil and coal industries. He was also a climate change denier.
Load More Replies...
Miller Smith 3 years ago
There are more trees in North America than when Columbus landed. So the US is awesome!!!
Azzeza Joseph Abraham 3 years ago
Sometimes America can be good but it does lots and lots of bad things too tons of bad things
Load More Replies...
Carlos Ramos 3 years ago
Errr -- If you had ever volunteered or were mobilized for Wild Fire Duty you would be aware that for every felled tree, 7 young trees are planted in the same vicinity. The illustrator shares a visual opinion, but fails to create an accurate, mature and professional image through failure to research at a professional level. Images like words CAN LIE.
Carlos Ramos 3 years ago
RIdiculous!!! This anomaly in the oval office is more destructive in one week than Obscumbo was in 8 years!! What rock are you hiding under??
#9
"How Facebook is toying with your brain and putting the world at risk while doing so. The social media behemoth is fine-tuning an AI that will be able to influence the thoughts and actions of users. Is it time to rein in this powerful tool and inject it with the morality it lacks?"
Desdemona Adelaide 3 years ago
I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
Load More Replies...
BadCat 3 years ago
How would they accomplish this with everyone. My tastes and interest change all the time, as so does many people. Plus we have free will. I'm certain we're reaching the limit in the intelligence of these billionaires trying to take over the world. That's the scary part. A bunch of people creating AI to control the society without really knowing exactly what they're doing and the ramifications. They're not any smarter than anyone.
Gary Sansom 3 years ago
Fb is the poison of modern society imo. It's p**s poor algorithm actively encourages bots and trolls to spout their poisonous garbage. Often in the pay of a government or lobby group. If you attempt to get back at them, they just report you for not complying with Fb's ridiculous 'community standards'. Basically it just means it's a free for all for bots and trolls to keep hating. AI in Fb's case just means artificial idiot. I really hope that appalling lizard creature, ZuckerTurd, burns for ever..
BRODOOLERINGO 3 years ago
Meta's new commercials are disturbing. They're literally singing to you about how they'll shape your thoughts. I'm so glad I ghosted fb like 7 years ago.
Alana Voeks 3 years ago
I deleted my profile. Seeing others pictures made me feel terrible about myself, and the fact no one ever responded to me made me feel worthless. It's useless to have it anyways, at least for me.
CammyCat 3 years ago
This is why I don’t do ANY social media. No Facebook, no Twitter, NOTHING! And I’m perfectly happy
Atero 3 years ago
If your list of "noes" does not include google or apple - you are still on the hook.
Load More Replies...
We asked the artist what makes him passionate about creating illustrations. He replied that he loves trying to tell a story with a single image. "Every time I get to visualize either an article or a story that I enjoy, I feel really excited about the challenge of interpreting the words into the drawing medium. There are so many options and I just love the freedom of being able to come out with something fun out of thin air. It's like magic!"
#10
"The Chinese government is on its way to establishing its very own social credit system. It will judge the trustworthiness of it’s 1.3 billion residents. Much like the nightmarish episode of Black Mirror, each person will be given a score based on a variety of factors, including finances, shopping habits, social media interactions, and more. The future is here, and it’s terrifying."
BadCat 3 years ago
I want to say something but I know it's going to get downvoted. But it's how I feel about this. I don't want to live in a society as a slave to other's judgement. I already feel like that with my mom and I'm wrecking my teeth every day gritting about it.
The Truth Behind The Myth Luna Lightning 3 years ago
Let's all upvote this person!!!
Load More Replies...
Lucy 3 years ago
I worry about how the world is going to be for my child & grandchild. Not for myself bc I'm already in my last 20 to possibly 25 years of life. They have their whole lives ahead of themselves. This world we're beginning to live in terrifies me.
Alicia GriffonLady 3 years ago
I worry about my daughter the same way. :(
Load More Replies...
Snorky The Pig 3 years ago (edited)
It is so scary how the governments keep trying to steal our freedom. It is even scarier to think about how there is not much we can do to prevent the corruption of the world. The toxic system of capitalism we are living in may not be the answer but communism DEFINITELY is not the answer. I only hope we can find a solid middle ground.
William Hicks 3 years ago
I don't see this as any worse than the credit score we have in the US.
Andrey Romashchenko 3 years ago (edited)
And russian government actually fines citizens for expressing things ONLINE disapproved by government.
#11
Miller Smith 3 years ago
Filling the hole in your soul with things. Never works and you end up in debt.
#12
"Isolation"
Mark Karol-Chik 3 years ago
Surrender to self-preservation From others who care for themselves A blindness that touches perfection But hurts just like anything else Isolation, isolation, isolation -Joy Division
Lucy 3 years ago
Sometimes isolating yourself saves you from heartache, disappointments among other things.
Marek Čtrnáct 3 years ago
Note that he's also the only one not under observation.
Load More Replies... GUSANO GRANDE 3 years ago
I put on a mask to fit into my groups, I've had to do it so much and gotten so good at it that I no longer know who I am anymore (: I wish I knew who I was
#13
"How to impress at a job interview."
Sasha Kuleshov 3 years ago
Oh yeah, I speak seven languages and my SAT score was off the roof ;D
#14
"The cover I drew for The Village Voice from a few years ago. The cover story dealt with predatory loan sharks that were buying up debt from various companies and then hounding mostly poor individuals for the money. I hope this type of predatory behavior has been curbed but I would dare guess that it hasn’t."
#15
"Vocal Minority - An illustration for Associations Now Magazine from a while back. When an organization's minority group is louder about its desires, it can sometimes become the one calling the shots."
Ben Cochrane 3 years ago
Sounds like the Alphabet Squad(forms roughly 1-4% of the total US population)
William Stark 3 years ago
More like the bible thumpers, influencing laws despite it being unconstitutional.
Load More Replies...
#16
"It's becoming harder and harder to get into a good college, and the demands on applicants from the school 'gatekeepers' have become more taxing."
Alana Voeks 3 years ago
It's such b******t. Unless you're going to become something like a doctor or a lawyer, it doesn't f*****g matter.
Ein Steinbeck 3 years ago
You can all hate on Miller Smith, but the sad truth is that you can do everything right as a white male and still lose out to a minority fuckup.
Earl Grey 3 years ago
One can do everything as best they can to compete and still not make the cut, then learn from that failure and apply the lessons learned, and try again. Repeat until the goal is achieved. Or wallow in self pity and race your fellow losers to the bottom as the world passes you by.
Load More Replies... #17
"Bad savings."
#18
"Austerity was in full force in Europe and often ended up hurting more than helping. In Spain, middle-class citizens defaulted on mortgages, lost their homes, and found no help in the government."
Miller Smith 3 years ago
Sad when th government runs out of other people's money. Just print fake money like we do in the U.S.
#19
"The haves and have nots - the COVID19 crisis is exposing a lot of deep issues in American society, one major one being inequality. You might be able to afford to stock up on food and blow $400 on a single trip to the supermarket, but someone else can only spend about a tenth of that at a time and may need several trips to the grocery store in order to feed the family, and so will expose themselves to a lot more risk."
Octavia Hansen 3 years ago
Birth control would help a lot. Less people means resources go further. It's not more stuff . . . it's less people. Considering how media sells sex, birth control and abortions are dirty words.
Nancy Darrigan 3 years ago
“Fewer” people, not “less” people. If it’s measured, it’s “less”; less fuel, less time, less spaghetti. If it’s COUNTED, it’s “fewer”; fewer people, fewer options, fewer items in your grocery cart, etc.
Load More Replies... Miller Smith 3 years ago
To bad the have nots have no access to education or tech schools to make themselves valuable for employment....or....the losers tend to also be bad in school or never graduated high school.
DeVonnah Woodruff 3 years ago (edited)
There are plenty of people who are educated in some way and still can't make it...your lack of sympathy because it's never happened to you is appalling.
Load More Replies... #20
"All tangled up"
#21
"Who are you on Facebook versus who are you IRL?"
Evan Sloane 3 years ago
If the it's just Facebook identity... I'm nobody.
Load More Replies... Lucy 3 years ago
I'm me & proud so if someone on social media don't like who I am then they can move on & leave me be. No need to be fake bc being is so much more rewarding.
Miller Smith 3 years ago
Don't have a presence on social media so that those who do will have to let you get to know then personally....or not ever get to know you....just make sure YOU are worth it!
#22
"Cover for a special education supplement which dealt with over-achieving kids, and the risks of burnout from pushing yourself, or your parents pushing you when you are too young."
Ein Steinbeck 3 years ago
"CEO's are large children with too much power and no emotional intelligence."
William Hicks 3 years ago
It's been found that a good percentage are sociopaths.They don't all end up as serial killers.
Load More Replies...
Rex Jantze 3 years ago
The buildings outside look like stacks of books, texts, portfolios. I wonder if that was intentional.
Zack Podany 3 years ago
My sister, who was in AP classes, dropped out of school and just got a GED instead because she couldn't take the stress.
Rob Woodninja 3 years ago
There are women there also. Can’t you tell?? Only a woman can say what a woman is!!
#23
"How to remain focused and avoid distractions at work."
#24
Octavia Hansen 3 years ago
Beware who speaks for you. Politicians will say ANYTHING for the vote, but do not claim responsibility when in office.
Piper L 3 years ago
Either V for Victory (film) or the Anonymous movement. Both use the same mask.
Load More Replies...
GUSANO GRANDE 3 years ago
Anon speaks the truth lol Fr tho look in the back at the signs and you may get a better understanding of what's going on.
#25
"Out with the old, in with the new."
GUSANO GRANDE 3 years ago
Society, not to be that guy but you know as well as I do.
Load More Replies... #26
"Silicon Valley is remaking the American school system. A handful of tech giants have plugged their hardware and software into US public schools. Is it just one great social experiment?"
Miller Smith 3 years ago
And the government schools sold you to the tech companies. Wonder how much you are worth? Look at the tech budget for your local school system.
Carlos Ramos 3 years ago
Yeah since about 1987 or 1988. That is why kids are too ignorant to learn. They have not been taught how to learn.
Beluga Whale 3 years ago
We tRuLy liVe iN a SoCietY Does this artist have any original thought
#27
"The disturbing reality of the Amazon Go smart grocery stores."
GUSANO GRANDE 3 years ago
Got any stories? I've never heard of anyone actually shopping there
Load More Replies... Zack Podany 3 years ago
This applies equally well to the warehouses. Buddy of mine was fired by a computer algorithm. The actual boss didn't even know it had happened.
MaltheTheGamerRM / RubGoose 3 years ago
I mean, if there wasn't so many security cameras, you'd have to have a LOT of trust in your customers
GUSANO GRANDE 3 years ago
I didn't know these actually took off, I'd rather just order my groceries and pick them up myself than being in an uncanny valley Amazon store.
#28
"What’s in the fridge? I don’t want you to panic, but we are running low on olives! Should you brave a trip to the grocery store? Food and our guts are tied to ancient animal survival instincts. Sometimes we can get irrational about it"
#29
"How do men diet? They eat less!"
#30
"Sickness and surveillance - an illustration about how the government is looking to collect our data in order to fight the COVID19 infection. When is an invasion of privacy justified? All our data is already out there swimming around, so maybe a bit more spying to save some lives is not a bad idea."
Ana Garfield 3 years ago
People need to grow up, work together, and heal. Stop making covid about politics. So sick of that...
GUSANO GRANDE 3 years ago
Ikr, we gon die one day and it's gonna be because of politics
Load More Replies... Andrey Romashchenko 3 years ago
Phreesia slips in a consent form for you to sign to “disclose my protected information to the advertiser… such as my name email address, mailing address, or phone number” and “health related materials”.
Alana Voeks 3 years ago
The government has been watching us for ages. I stopped giving a s**t a while ago. They don't care about the average person. I mean hell, if they can see children getting beat and not do anything about it, what makes you think they'll give a damn about your foot fetish?
#31
"'Work-Life After COVID-19: Six Questions' - Experts weigh in on the problems that might arise when people return to work from their offices."
#32
"Road trip went wrong. Two casual friends decide to go on a spontaneous road trip across the US. They soon discover that not only do they have nothing in common, but they also easily get on each other’s nerves."
#34
"This was an illustration from several years ago for The Progressive Magazine. The article asked the question: should relatives be allowed to take a loved one off life support? And if so, when?"
Piper L 3 years ago
This could be solved if end of life euthanasia was legalised. I have a degenerative condition that may one day paralyse me to the point of a ventilator. I will seek Dignitas before then and not force the loved ones in my life to make that choice. I will have chosen before that day comes.
#35
"The benefits of being retired - illustrations made for the Saturday Evening Post several years ago. It’s funny now I look at the woman multitasking with a crying toddler and think - that’s me!"
#36
#39
"How is the news feed making you feel these days?"
#40
Blurryface 3 years ago
Depression and anxiety telling you you’re worthless. Lowering your self-esteem.
#42
"How to deal with a vaping teen?"
BadCat 3 years ago
If they earn their own money from jobs parents cannot just take that money away from them. It's financial abuse and embezzlement. If a teen as gotten into an unhealthy habit that is up to the parent to figure out how to help the teen kick the habit or if they're okay to just let them do what they want. Even if a parent did cut their vaping/smoking teen off of money they'll just find a way around it.
Load More Replies...
Atlas 3 years ago
Yeah not the best way to discourage negative behaviors…
Load More Replies... #43
"‘Impression Management’ is the habit of editing and amplifying your online persona by presenting a more impressive version of yourself on social networks. Don’t we all do this?"
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Will sell soul for corn chip 3 years ago
I cant believe Bored panda didn't censor that one with the woman and the man with the barnacles :O That being said, keep up the amazing work, I loved the color palette you used for them
shivam jaiswal 3 years ago
I love this guy's art style, would definitely read a whole serious graphic novel done in this!
Will sell soul for corn chip 3 years ago
I cant believe Bored panda didn't censor that one with the woman and the man with the barnacles :O That being said, keep up the amazing work, I loved the color palette you used for them
shivam jaiswal 3 years ago
I love this guy's art style, would definitely read a whole serious graphic novel done in this!
You May Like 50 AI Art Fails That Are Both Horrifying And Hilarious 40 Famous Paintings That Changed Art Forever And Cost A Fortune Doing It 72 Creative Graffiti Art That Turned Blank Walls Into Objects Of Admiration
Eglė Bliabaitė
Viktorija Strelciunaite
Eligijus Sinkunas
Related on Bored Panda
