Old and new. East and West. Pop art and fine art. Thai artist Bipo Ones contrasts all these things to create vibrant, colorful, and surprising acrylic paintings. Coming across them online, a viewer might not know what to make of them. Collages? Paintings? Memes? Well, yes. It’s all of the above. But done with only a paintbrush and canvas.

Since 2019, Bipo has been slapping these disparate styles together on the same canvas, mixing an affinity for hyperrealistic painting, comic books, graffiti, Buddhist culture, propaganda, and more all in one space. He smashes together classic cartoon characters, bubble letter throw ups, and Thai fonts from old school movie posters and country music album covers in a way that makes them look at home together. In one painting, the Jordan 23 sits next to a realistic depiction of a nuclear explosion and a Tibetan tiger rug as if it were all connected. And maybe it is. It’s all human, after all.

Bipo, whose real name is Supasake Suwanpayakoo, chose his alias in honor of the bipo tree (known as the Bodhi Tree in English), which the Buddha is said to have found enlightenment underneath. You can trace this interest in Buddhism throughout his work, both in the picture-like paintings of Thai statues, but also in the form it’s taken in other countries like India and China. His interest in fonts also crosses borders, ranging from popular culture to propaganda, which he points out are very similar in their boldness and immediacy.

His paintings can be seen now at Payaq Gallery’s Earthquake Suncrack show until May 12th.