Illustration for The Irish Independent newspaper, inspired by Dawkins’ book ‘The Selfish Gene.’

Case Study

This was a most enjoyable piece to do. My wife actually got it framed and hung it on our house!

One of the funny things about this was that I placed a wild beast at the bottom of the composition. John O’Sullivan, the commissioning Editor, remarked that I’d cleverly “put the Celtic Tiger at the bottom!” But the thing is, I hadn’t even thought of the Irish economy’s so-called Celtic Tiger at all! I was simply placing a dangerous looking wild beast at the bottom, which the humans are trying to avoid, in their quest to make it to the safety and comfort of the top of the picture—and which they’re also gradually evolving from.

It was another of those occasions where I suspect that some creative ideas sneak in almost unnoticed by the artists themselves!

Illustration: John White
Media: Ink, Watercolour, pencil, on watercolour Paper
Client: Irish Independent Newspaper