Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence. We all have gleefully used our sharp tongues to deal with the idiots of the world and got away with it. The illustrator Joan Cornellà gives us modern tragedies and a glimpse into a twisted reality. He has a biting, sarcastic, and mostly acidic sense of humor that for some may be too bitter to swallow. If you look beyond the gaudy colors and beatific, terrifying smiles of the characters, you’ll see the message hidden behind this dark humor. We live in a cruel and sadistic world that makes as much sense as a bag full of wet cats.
Cornellà plays with a heady mixture of black humor and hopelessness. His creations are both fun and hurtful, as truthful as they are absurd. Horrible scenes play out, showing us a fun world that can be razor-sharp the very next second. Cynical smiles abound, and the spectator cannot help but emulate them.
In the space of six vignettes, Cornellà gives us an extremely negative panorama of life using bright colors and friendly, blank faces of the characters. In the world he creates everything can go wrong, and the main theme woven throughout is life’s irony. Violence can happen at any instant, and society seems more backward than ever because the most ordinary scenario can turn vicious in the space of a second.
Lighthearted and playful upon first glance, but each vignette can swiftly turn morbid and unnerving. Black comedy is the life force of his work, and Cornellà fearlessly makes fun at subjects that for some would be out of bounds. Nothing is sacred or off limits. Murder, suicide, torture, cannibalism, infanticide, and mutilation are all cheerfully carried out by characters with blank faces and large, empty grins. So laugh away and know that it’s okay to feel bad about it at the same time.
