Cartoonist Ian Knox: My exhibition is one long, controlled angry scream

Satirical cartoonist Ian Knox has described an exhibition portraying architectural eyesores and environment damage as a long, controlled angry scream.

Better known as a political cartoonist for the Irish News, Knox is also a trained architect.

Passionate about what he describes as the people of Ireland's "visual bypass" when it comes to the built space, the 75-year-old artist said he hopes his new collection can spark a conversation about the need to banish poor design practices in urban and rural areas.

The Critical Crass exhibition opened in the offices of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) in Belfast on Thursday evening.

"It's one long, controlled angry scream," he said.

"The title Critical Crass is a play on 'critical mass' which means a number of people needed to cause action to happen or to stop actions to happen."

Knox said he wanted to demonstrate the importance of public policy and design quality in shaping modern Ireland.

Joan McCoy, president of RSUA, said "It might be surprising to learn Ian Knox trained as an architect before becoming an artist.

"In this exciting new exhibition, Ian combines his forensic analysis with a deep affection for our urban and rural surroundings.

"This display will challenge our preconceptions and highlight the damage poor design does in our towns and cities.

"Viewers will come away with a deeper appreciation of the role and benefits of architects and architecture."