Cinismo Ilustrado: Illustrated Cynicism

An artist with a tongue-in-cheek approach to life’s disappointments.

Eduardo Salles is a Mexico City-born creative director, illustrator and writer. Formerly the Chief Creative Officer at Flock creative agency, Salles now maintains a side-project called Cinismo Ilustrado, or “Illustrated Cynicism”.

It is a collection of artworks that take a humourous view on the trends and let downs of modern life using a very colourful style. Salles objectifies a number of behaviours and inventions associated with the Digital Age such as smartphone use, common behaviour on online platforms and the emojification of language.

Eduardo Salles social artwork

Apart from poking fun at popular trends, Salles has created posters that illustrate the depression related to taking on massive student debt right after graduating, the poverty of sourcing “likes” on Facebook, settling for a dreary day job after training in a highly specialised field and what the concept of freedom of speech means in an age that is ruled by social media. The illustrator offers a lighthearted yet derisive look at these subjects, indicating heavier questions about the direction society is moving in.

Eduardo Salles social artwork

Salles’s artworks are visually minimal in style, letting the joke emerge unchallenged in the same way that internet memes work. The design scope of Cinismo Ilustrado ranges from hand-drawn text and characters to more sleek, infographic-style breakdown of subjects – all seen through the lens of a cynical observer of contemporary culture.

Social double standards artwork

 

Eduardo Salles social artwork