Dane Shaw uses radical contemporary aesthetics to give new life to antiquated Indigenous portraits. His work, viewable on his Instagram account @FrybreadLife, uses wild, vibrant colors, psychedelic backgrounds, and pop culture symbolism to bring the Indigenous people featured in the portraits “back to life” in visually mesmerizing ways. These stunning juxtapositions of black and white photography with chaotically chromatic digital collage are rife with Indigenous symbolism, as well as a great deal of humor. His images and captions play off of hilarious cultural references that resonate with Indigenous youth and today’s Indigenous pop culture. A mix of traditional symbolism with contemporary icons and visual “trends” makes his work all the more interesting and entertaining to look at. Each image is intensely detailed, with a mess of contemporary references surrounding the old-school photographic subjects, creating a retro-futuristic aesthetic that is at once eye-catching and also undeniably entertaining.

Scroll through the photo gallery below to explore some of our favourite pieces by Dane: