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# Brilliant Illustrations Ridicule Modern Vice
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/brilliant-illustrations-ridicule-modern-vice/
- Published: 2014-12-25T14:56:31.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:16:10.000Z
- Description: The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words finds substance in the illustrations of John Holcroft.
- Author: Laura C. Mallonee
- Tags: Art, Illustration, Photo Essays, Satire, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:08 (2014, 2015, part 2)

![(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/john-holcroft-1.jpg)

(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)

The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words finds substance in the illustrations of [John Holcroft](http://www.johnholcroft.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com). Since he began working 19 years ago, the UK-based artist has been creating pithy visual satires that poke at society’s foibles.

In an old-fashioned style reminiscent of screenprint ads from the 1940s and ’50s, Holcroft tackles themes like work, technology and our never-ending quest for happiness — routinely sabotaged by the age-old culprits of ego, greed, and laziness. One drawing features a trio of baby-faced businessmen suckling a at a piggybank; another shows a breakfast cereal that boosts narcissism by the bowl-full.

“I illustrate the things that are important to me,” Holcroft — whose clients include publications like *The Guardian*, *The Economist* and *Financial Times* — told Hyperallergic. “It just happens that a lot of what concerns me is political.”

![John Holcroft 8](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/john-holcroft-8.jpg)

(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)

![John Holcroft 9](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/john-holcroft-9.jpg)

(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)

![John Holcroft 6](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/john-holcroft-6.jpg)

![(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/john-holcroft-2.jpg)

(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)

![John Holcroft 13](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/john-holcroft-13.jpg)

![(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/john-holcroft-4.jpg)

(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)

![(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/john-holcroft-11.jpg)

(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)

![(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/john-holcroft-12.jpg)

(Image courtesy of John Holcroft)