Raised in the suburbs of Orange County, artist Aaron Elvis Jupin grew up surrounded by what he refers to as “the suburban decay of the American dream.” Now based in Los Angeles, much of Jupin’s recent work grapples with the fleeting nature of memory and change, in a state where natural disasters and reoccurring fires have become the “new normal.”

“Along with winter and spring, these fires are something that have become a part of our language and their season is growing longer and longer each year,” he explains. His work explores these unsettling realities through a comedic lens, using the language of cartoon, in the sense that “anything goes,” and playing with the basic rules of photography and early animation to create depth and reflect on the mundane from an uneasy perspective. Jupin elaborates: “The work focuses on the dismantling of memory and familiarity, taking symbols from American culture and rebranding them to communicate despair and loss.”

See more from Aaron Elvis Jupin below!