Crossword Genius

The Irish love hothead in photos and artwork (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

graphics

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'artwork' is the definition.
('graphics' can be a synonym of 'artwork')

'the irish love hothead in photos' is the wordplay.
'the irish love' becomes 'gra' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'hothead' becomes 'h' (head letter of 'hot').
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'photos' becomes 'pics'.
'h' inserted inside 'pics' is 'phics'.
'gra'+'phics'='GRAPHICS'

'and' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for graphics that I've seen before include "Letterings and drawings" , "Illustrations, drawings" , "Drawings and photographs in printed publication" , "Computer images" , "Artwork" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times (Crosaire) and the Irish Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app