“Unpopular Culture”: Artist ‘Uncovers’ The Disturbing Behind-The-Scenes Of Popular Characters
Pop culture is always changing and never stops evolving. There are different movies, music genres, songs, and characters that shape our culture and they change every year, if not every month. However, certain characters stay with us for a long time. Like Disney, Pokemon, Dragon Ball, and many others. Artist Alex Solis decided to take these well-known characters and add a weird and even disturbing twist to them.
He calls this series “Unpopular Culture” and it will probably damage, maybe even ruin your childhood. However, if you like dark humor, puns, and unexpected twists, these comics are for you.
More: Alex Solis, Instagram, Facebook h/t: boredpanda
On Alex’s website it says a little bit about him: “Realizing at a young age that the stereotype of the starving artist might impede his ability to pay the bills, Solis decided to focus on Design and Web Development. Learning code and design helped him with his art to add a more visual and concept-driven look to everything he creates. This has led him to push his art to a new level which has allowed him to travel and share his story with the world through his art.”
Alex told Bored Panda what inspired him to create these illustrations: “Pop culture shapes our society and our lives. In this series, I’m exploring pop culture icons in an alternate reality that reflects our current society.”
He also mentioned what the main goal of these illustrations is: “I hope to help people see things from a new perspective, or at the very least, enjoy nostalgic feelings and a good laugh to brighten their day.”
“Alex Solis’ lifelong passion is art, even when he takes a day off, he is still doodling. Alex Solis currently resides in Wisconsin where he works full time on his own brand Oddworx. When he’s not working on art, he spends most of his time with his family.” Alex’s life is art. He dedicates his time and efforts to create all kinds of illustrations. Usually, ones with dark humor, unexpected twists, and ideas behind them.
Alex told the story of what got him into art and how he got started: “Art has always been a getaway from a very humble upbringing, my parents migrated to the USA from Mexico, at a very young age it was a bit hard for me to adjust to a new culture and society, so drawing always felt like my comfort zone. And a lot of these pop culture characters helped me escape the reality of living somewhere so new and with a language barrier art became my voice.”
“The most difficult part is coming up with a completely new concept and idea, especially when playing around with characters that have been around for so long and cemented into our lives. My goal is to tell a new story with the ideas.”
Alex shared what his favorite topics to cover are: “I try to cover a vast majority of topics, but I do try to stay with what’s familiar to me and what I love when you start creating work and ideas based on stuff you don’t know just for the sake of creating something for likes, etc. I think that’s when it falls short. But my topics range from Kid shows (Having kids helps! haha), To politics, to comics, etc.”
The artist described his style to us: “I think my work is very concept-driven so the style can alternate a bit to reflect the concept I’m working on. But I would say it’s a mix of 90s cartoons, graffiti, and lowbrow art.”
Alex mentioned that he started to create pop culture illustrations about 15 years ago. He still keeps getting new ideas and concepts, so he does not plan on stopping any time soon. He shared what his main inspiration to keep going is: “I want to leave a mark with my work, whether is something simple as bringing a smile to someone’s bad day, to becoming a household name in the future, the legacy of my work is my life’s goal and work.” Alex says that the most important thing is to work on your own projects and fulfill your crazy ideas: “Follow through and finish them!”
Alex tells more bout himself and his journey to where he is right now: “My parents migrated to the USA and at a very young age adjusting to a new culture and language was a bit tough, but art and dance saved my life! Aside from consistently doing art all my life, I’m also a b-boy and have been dancing for over 20+ years. It helped me travel, explore many cultures, see and appreciate different art, and art forms around the world. I think it is very important to learn and understand all types of art and what others are doing, It has helped me shaped my vision and goals in life.”
