The beauty and power of art is its ability to open our minds to a different truth or reality about the world that we live in, one we may have never previously considered. This is certainly the case when you check out the incredibly creative work of Italian illustrator Elia Colombo, aka Gebe.

While some artists may focus their work on the beauty of nature, capturing stunning landscape scenes or the delicate details of a flower, Gebe chooses to use his work to reveal the often harder to accept realities of our society. From our social media addiction to the forced conformity of our school systems and everything in between, his illustrations serve a very important purpose. They force us to take a step back and reconsider everything that we once held to be true. Are you truly aware of the little decisions that you make every day and how they affect your life?

A self-proclaimed ‘free spirit’, Gebe refuses to be defined by society’s expectations. Choosing to live by the motto “Life is too short to get a real job”, he decided that he would dedicate his life to openly and honestly expressing his opinions, views, and observations of the world.

The result? A collection of colorful and seemingly ‘fun’ illustrations. However, if you take the time to step back and look closer, you will realize that each of these images holds a very significant meaning. You’ll find yourself comparing the messages from Gebe’s images to our own life and identifying habits that demand your attention.

Taking to Instagram, Gebe now shares his illustrations with over 89,000 followers around the globe. He also sells canvas prints of some of his more popular work on Wallabe as well as a wide selection of his images on t-shirts through TeePublic, allowing everyone and anyone to share his sometimes controversial messages with the world.