Steve Cutts rubs the rot of the world in our faces
- Samuel Elom
- Aug 18
- 3 min read
Steve Cutts doesn't want you to feel comfortable. Quite the opposite. A British illustrator and animator, he's known for transforming the rottenness of contemporary society into uncomfortable, powerful, and inescapable images.
Art as denunciation: who is Steve Cutts?
With a style reminiscent of the aesthetics of 1930s cartoons, Steve Cutts creates disturbing universes that brutally denounce rampant consumerism , digital alienation , labor exploitation and environmental destruction.
Before becoming an independent artist, Cutts worked in advertising agencies, an experience that later fueled his criticism. In interviews, he has stated:
“The irony of working in advertising is that while I was helping brands sell more, inside I was dying a little every day.”
This duality between aesthetic seduction and moral discomfort is what makes his work so remarkable.
MAN: humanity as a plague
In 2012, Cutts released the short film " MAN ," which quickly went viral. In just over four minutes, the video depicts one character: humans, experiencing every possible form of exploitation and destruction of nature, leading to collapse.
A short that punches you in the gut
Without a single word, just with a sarcastic background score, he makes a clear denunciation: we are the biggest parasite on the planet .
The images are simple, but the message is devastating. Animals, forests, oceans—everything is destroyed to make way for waste, profit, and haste. In the end, nature takes revenge, but even that doesn't feel like redemption.
Digital alienation and the invisible prison
Another striking work is the video " Are You Lost in the World Like Me? ", made in partnership with musician Moby. The animation shows people completely absorbed in their cell phones, ignoring the aggression, hunger, suicide, and violence around them.
The black and white aesthetic, inspired by old Max Fleischer cartoons, sets the perfect melancholic tone for the review.
It's a true portrait of the smartphone era: people addicted to digital dopamine , unable to create real connections, while the world collapses around them.
Criticism of capitalism and the illusion of progress
Cutts takes a hard line against capitalism. His art dismantles the myth of "progress" that crushes nature and reduces workers to disposable cogs. In many of his paintings, human figures are often seen caged in gray offices, robotized, slowly dying within the system.
“Today’s society rewards destructive behavior and ignores the real impacts of our collective actions,” Cutts said in an interview.
And he shows it without mercy. Factories spewing products and bodies, men with pig heads representing greedy businessmen, children sucked into screens. All of this is repeated as symbols of a real dystopia, in which we are all immersed.
The aesthetics of discomfort
Despite the harsh messages, Cutts' art isn't ugly. On the contrary, it's beautifully disturbing . The vintage style contrasts with the morbid content, creating an even more unsettling effect. It's like watching a Looney Tunes episode written by George Orwell.
This contrast is intentional. By drawing us in with its nostalgic aesthetic, it captivates us and then forces us to look at the grime we try to ignore every day .
Why is Cutts essential today?
In times where algorithms deliver content that massages our egos and obscures reality, Steve Cutts is the bitter but necessary antidote . His art reminds us that we are numb, that we live in a grand farce sustained by advertising, consumption, and distraction.
He doesn't want likes. He wants to cause an existential crisis.
In a world where influencers sell sports betting to indebted young people and multinationals paint plastic bottles green to appear sustainable, Steve Cutts screams in our faces: “Wake the fuck up.”
You can follow Steve Cutts' work on his official website or on Instagram @steve_cutts , where he shares new animations and illustrations.
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