Spanish artist, Luis Quiles, is known for causing splash after splash with his controversial artwork, which reveals the ugly side of society. Quiles is unafraid to pick up touchy topics like sexism, exploitation, violence, and homophobia; in fact it is one of his passions. Combining his art skills and in depth thoughts about society, Quiles creates art with a punch.

What causes Luis Quiles’ art to be so controversial is that it is so raw and blunt, and often revolves around the type of truths people don’t like to discuss, let alone admit. For some people, Quiles’ images spark feelings of disgust or terror, but within each work there is a story being told, a fear being shared, and something for everyone to take away.

Check out some of Quiles controversial illustrations here.

Quiles artwork combines real-life events with current affairs, references to pop culture, technology, and more. Sometimes one of his images will appear innocent, until you look a little closer to see what is really going on.

Recently, Quiles has shared he will eventually be taking all of his art down from Deviantart because they have been censoring much of his artwork, despite the fact he has not broken any terms of agreement.

His work is often so unsettling to look at because it’s not some far-fetched comic-drawing, but a look at the real world through an unfiltered lens. Quiles could have used his artistic talents to play it safe, draw images for children’s books, or create landscape portraits, but instead he has really turned heads with his unique form of art.

Women have the right to vote, work and help pay the bills in the modern era, but that doesn’t mean sexism is dead.

The average individual spends 162 minutes every day on their mobile device, and for some people it’s WAY more than that. Despite how handy-dandy cell phones are they often get in the way of life.

Quiles writes of the artwork below, titled The I-Phonekkake, “We should seriously ask ourselves if we are controlling technology or technology is controlling us.”

Modern society seems bright and happy, with festive stores full of food and goods, happy-go-lucky pop music, and endless forms of entertainment, but just like anything in life, there is also a darker side to society. It is this darkness that Quiles so perfectly captures in his artwork, not just in society but also within the human psyche as well.

Did you know people actually get paid to have company logos tattooed on their body? Others simply advertise for free, wearing brand names plastered all over their clothing.

People pick up a number of strong feelings looking at Quiles’ art, sometimes horror or disgust, but no matter how his artwork makes you feel, it offers us all a chance to sit back, think, and reflect on the world we live in. The more real we are about society the better we can actively work to improve the role we play in it.

Remember when there was speculation one of the Teletubbies was gay?

In proof of Quiles’ growing popularity, his Instagram page, which is private, has 14.5k followers, and his Facebook has accumulated over 100,000 likes. While haters are always going to hate, far more people love what Quiles has done with his art, shedding a light on topics that are often dismissed and deserve attention.

The truth is not always pretty, especially not in war-torn regions where children are victims of poverty and violence, never even allowed to feel completely safe in their own home.

You can check out more of Quiles artwork on his DeviantArt channel.

Photo Credits: Facebook, Instagram, DeviantArt