Badge Mosaics by Joe Black

Joe Black piece together thousands of handmade badges depicting various images.

Nearly every one of the badges used is made by Joe Black himself. He also makes use of oil paints, acrylics and other mediums to complete his masterpieces.

Animal Farm

… consists of 1,389 badges of Western cultural imagery interspersed with corporate logos, fast food and obesity.



The piece focuses on the supersized culture of modern society and our relentless greed for wanting bigger and better.

Superman embodies notions of goodness, physical beauty and power. The defacing of the image of superman questions the desires and aspirations that drive us all to believe that mass consumption will make us better human beings, leading fulfilled lives. Does ‘super’ necessarily mean good?

Carry Your Own Sins Missy

1478 handmade badges of collected imagery, from Elvis and Disney cartoons to the Vietnam War.





The iconic image of Captain America encapsulates the idea of America as the hero nation. However, within the image we glimpse the conflicts and contradictions of the all American dream.

Eat My Lies - Size 100 cm x 140cm

1,316 handmade badges depicting Western glamour imagery and iconic Playboy covers.
Oil and acrylic paint with aerosol finishing.



Wonder Woman stems from classical philosophy; beauty = truth. The piece focuses on the sexual mass consumption that has manipulated the female form to an extent that the beauty we see is distorted. The defacing of the ‘Glamour’ imagery used within this piece questions where the power of sexual attraction sits – in the real or the fake?

Sexual Verkäufe - Size 95 cm x 130 cm

1208 handmade badges depicting erotic images, Nazi Germany and iconic Britain. Oil and acrylic paint with aerosol finishing.





Featuring Kate Moss donning a hybrid of German & British war symbolism. “Verkäufe” is German for ‘sales’ and the work hints at an ever growing trend towards outlandish shock tactics in order to sell a product. In essence the work hints at the increasing relationship between war and profit.

Devil’s in the Detail

2,435 handmade badges depicting modern day culture imagery.





Check his website: http://www.mrjoeblack.com/

Images and artworks info taken from the website