Save the Planet With Joan Cornellà
No one does morbid humor quite as ruthlessly and unflinchingly as Joan CORNELLÀ. The Spanish artist creates visual worlds which are as entertaining as they are macabre, commenting on the sinister side of human nature, social vice and global crises. His seemingly cheerful and simplistic illustrations depict generic faces of smiling characters in various types of exaggerated scenarios.
Like a puppet-master, CORNELLÀ guides us through the storytelling, playing with levels of outrage, suspense and humor. Before we know it, we find ourselves intrigued or even amused by scenes of violence, murder, cruelty, amputation or infanticide, followed by a slight wave of guilt at having made light of someone’s misery.
“Why did you laugh?” the artwork seems to be asking.
Nothing is off-limits
In his solo skate art edition with THE SKATEROOM, Joan CORNELLÀ once again turns taboos into satire. Inspired by the iconography of waste disposal symbols, the depicted image presents a large figure who is throwing a smaller, infant-like figure upside down into the trash can. The already disturbing connotation is made even more disquieting upon noticing their two identical faces, both formed into an eerie smile against the white background.
Under the image, we see “SAVE THE PLANET” written in bold letters. Although not specifically stated by the artist, the message may be a nod to issues such as global overpopulation, exploitation of natural resources and cruelty of mankind that’s passed on from generation to generation. Ultimately, it’s for the viewer to decide.
A positive outlook
This thought-provoking collection is also bringing a tangible positive impact. As with all of THE SKATEROOM’s collections, we will donate 10% of all sales towards social skate projects worldwide. In the past decade, we have funded skatepark constructions, educational workshops, recreational initiatives and community-building programs, supporting underprivileged communities around the world.
Artist Bio
Joan Cornellà Vázquez (born 11 January 1981, Barcelona) is a cartoonist and illustrator famous for his unsettling, surrea l humor and black humorous comic strips as well as artwork.
Cornellà’s work has often been described as disturbing or flat-out offensive. Through simplistic visual language, he is able to use satire to comment on the sinister and often bleak side of human nature through a myriad of unconventional scenarios. Everything from our unnatural connection to social media and masturbatory selfie culture to political topics such as abortion, addiction and gender issues - no subject is off limits. Cornellà’s work revels in its absurdity and impropriety.
Upon first glance, Cornellà’s work seems light-hearted and playful, his figures all share a generic blank smile and bright cheery color palette (akin to 1950’s advertising or Airline safety pamphlets) Upon further inspection however, the overwhelming morbidness and unnerving nature shines through with unparalleled force. Black comedy, at it’s core, is about satirizing subjects that are traditionally prohibited, things that are seen as too sa-cred or off limits. Cornellà pokes fun at such topics and cuts to their core with gags and minimal visual clues, illustrating scenes of cannibalism, infanticide, deification, murder, suicide and amputation (used most frequently). While some feel affronted by his work, many connect over it, laughing and feeling bad for laughing all at the same time.
Thought-provoking, honest and incredibly entertaining, Cornellà's work is truly since-re and holds real potency in its message, even when disguised through blatant humor. In the artist’s own words: “I think we all laugh at misery. We must start from the idea that when we laugh, we laugh at someone or something. With empathy or not, there is always some degree of cruelty. In spite of that, I am aware that if one of my cartoons happened in real life I would not laugh at all”.
Cornellà’s audience and fans share a certain level of skepticism and cynicism that unify their shared experience: “I agree with a phrase by Bill Hicks: ‘I believe there is an equality to all humanity. We all suck.’ In my comics characters are like plastic and always have a big smile even though horrible things happen to them constantly. Everything is exaggerated, although certain behaviours can relate to real life,” he says.
Art with an impact
Jon BURGERMAN’s philosophy centers around creativity, inspiring people of all ages to explore their talents and have fun in the process. This approach is wonderfully aligned with that of THE SKATEROOM, which is why we donate 10% of all sales to social projects worldwide. Together, we seek to spread the positive impact of skateboarding across the world, supporting community-building, education and recreation for underprivileged youths.
