Thai collage artist Cerebrum piles together Ancient Chinese culture, Greek mythology, traditional Thai and Japanese imagery, and Hindu visual storytelling, blending them to express new ideas and viewpoints. Dense foliage and delicate flowers mix with characters and dwellings from across time as a way to spin sprawling tales and reveal deeply personal insights.

Cerebrum, whose real name is Matus Kaewdum, has been working in this style for about four years now, and collages have always been his main form of expression. Everything he creates is based on mythology and literature, using images often shared by various museums, which he modifies and places in different contexts as a way to tell fresh stories and draw parallels across cultures. Although he frequently features Thai imagery in his work, he actively avoids getting too caught up in local traditions to allow himself more experimentation and to keep his work intentionally diverse. He believes all religions and traditions have something to teach us, not just one. Besides, Thai culture is influenced by many others, and so he aims to highlight those relationships in his work, particularly with Hinduism.

Although Cerebrum is most happy when casting a wide net, he’s not afraid to delve deeply into Thai culture either. Recently he’s been gathering research materials for a new series on the mythology, legends, and stories of Isan culture. Last month he visited a local community in Loei province to observe traditional ‘Thai Dan’ rice spirit ceremonies for an upcoming project. And he’s previously worked on pieces exploring northern Thai folklore related to political unification during the establishment of Siam.

Cerebrum’s work has grown increasingly dense and detailed, particularly with his series of super-wide images inspired by Chinese hand scrolls, which he says is a format that communicates the narrative flow of time very well. “This series revolves around the themes of time, relationships, and storytelling,” he explains. “Often, our lives and relationships are depicted as linear narratives, with clear beginnings, middles, and ends. However, in various forms of storytelling, whether in legends or literature, time doesn’t always progress that way. These pieces play with the idea of overlapping narratives with multiple ways of reading while seemingly presented in a linear form.”

The traditional and ancient themes in Cerebrum’s art are also used to explore very personal subjects. “Son,” for example, was created to express the hurt and pain he felt from his family due to his identity as an LGBTQIA+ boy. The piece depicts a skeletal deity within a walled garden. There are throngs of worshipers outside eagerly preparing gifts and performances, but many of those within are grieving and weeping. “Although I no longer feel as angry at my family as I did in the past, this is a reminder of how angry and lonely I felt in my youth,” he explains. “It’s my wish that no other child faces the same situation I did.” He hopes to speak to other kids who are pressured against identifying as non-binary or gender non-conforming because of their family’s religion. “We shouldn’t have to hide our sexual identity.”