Face it, Instagram has become monotonous. While in the past it has served as a way for professional and “wannabe” photographers to display and perfect their craft, it’s mostly just an ongoing competition to see who can get the most “likes”.  We “like” our friends’ pictures in hopes that they’ll in turn “like” ours, and we trade “likes” within this vanity-driven bartering system. Seriously, did you actually like that picture of your friend’s paper plate dinner consisting of mystery meat and soggy-looking mac and cheese? Or your pal’s new pair Jordans that they foolishly waited in a blizzard for? What about the BILLIONTH picture that high school friend (you never really liked) posted of their 2-year-old? Did the pretentious (and probably misquoted) musical lyric beneath these pictures move you? Probably not. However, for artist Yue Wu, “liking” pictures on Instagram is the source of his artistic inspiration.

Using posts that he “liked” on Instagram on a given day, Wu began to illustrate some pretty awe-inspiring artwork. His work seamlessly melds aspects of various cultures into skillfully crafted pieces of art that somehow fit perfectly on the same canvas. There’s something for everyone — from sneaker heads to music aficionados to fashion junkies to sports enthusiasts to straight up fans of art — you’re bound to come away from Wu’s art with something. His work has even earned him an Instagram post by Nike’s newest collaborator, Ricardo Tisci. Enjoy Yue Wu’s fantastic collages in the pages below.

– Khari Clarke (@KINGCLARKEIII)