Noma Bar, an Israel-born illustrator based in London, tackles politically charged issues with eloquence and wit; his subjects ranging from Iraq to corporate greed. He works by honing the negative space of a drawing, so that it adds nuance to the dominant subject he’s depicting. Here’s a selection of works from his new book, Negative Space, just published by Mark Batty Publishers.
By Cliff Kuang2 minute Read
Feeling the pinch. TimeOut. November 2006. Home foreclosures are a common occurrence in this day and age. But the real story is about what happens to those people who lose their homes.
The big squeeze. Unpublished. 2007. This piece was for an article about squeezing oil out of Iraq. The oversized hand communicates the scale of force imposed on the country.
A time for penal moderation. The Guardian. October 2008. The UK’s penal system belittles the incarcerated, according to the author of the article that this illustration accompanied. The author’s demand for more egalitarian and humane treatment of prisoners comes off as fanciful in light of the system’s harsh shackled realities.
Chindia. Esquire. July 2008. The enormous populations of China and India have elevated both countries from the butts of bad jokes to world powers.
The root of all evil. The Economist. September 2008.
We see you but not your crime. Unpublished. 2008. In the UK, organized gangs of shoplifters wreak havoc on shopkeepers and police.
Does my small penis matter? The Guardian. May 2008. Negative space transformed into a thumb-sized image of a penis, urging a size-anxious man to see himself from a different angle.
Divorce. The Guardian. May 2008.
Criminal record. GQ. October 2008. Record labels have always had complex relationships with musicians and music fans. These relationships have become even more tenuous over the past ten or fifteen years, especially at major labels. Bottom lines override artistic integrity and fans are considered idiots or thieves, filling the industry with venom.
Handshakes and hand grenades. Unpublished. 2007.Germany, France, World War II. The Guardian. December 2005. Severe army green on black becomes at once a German helmet and a French beret that are nearly indistinguishable, like the countries’ WWII politics.
Make love. Penthouse. September 2007. This coupling camouflage illustrated an article about sex during wartime.
The harder they come. Esquire. May 2008. No matter how severe a recession or how bleak the world seems, sex and the sex industry will always be on the rise.
The realities of alcoholism. The Guardian. November 2005. This bloodied face defined by an upturned booze bottle and a wine glass accompanied a journalist’s autobiographical account of her struggle to overcome alcoholism in light of a UK proposal that would permit alcohol to be sold 24 hours a day.
Noma Bar, an Israel-born illustrator based in London, tackles politically charged issues with eloquence and wit; his subjects range from Iraq to corporate greed, and his work appears regularly in The Economist, Esquire, Wallpaper, and The Guardian. He works by honing the negative space of a drawing, so that it adds nuance to the dominant subject he’s depicting–the meaning snaps into focus only after a split-second. His best work gives you the feeling of a light bulb, popping in your head. We’ve written about Bar’s work once before, but wanted to offer a bigger selection of works from his new book,
