The Queen (your Royal Highness) stands in a funky green outfit and her usual Queen smile. She is photoshopped holding a silver Balenciaga hourglass bag. A meme for the fashion-savvy, the not-so-royalist-believers, a Queen that’s happy with her Demna creation.

Another image sits of Che Guevara in a Versace varsity jacket. The V and Versace is in your face, whilst Guevera’s famous photo sits collaged over the models face, and his hand is pointing towards an inscription on the jacket that reads Donatella. The image presents as satire, a man who fought for his beliefs (ultimately dying for them) is now known for the cheap t-shirts you see at every weekend market and Etsy shop. In a world where financial capital is paramount, and showing off what you have is easier than ever thanks to a few social media apps, Instagram accounts that point out such dichotomies provide not only comical relief, but highlight some of the frivolities of contemporary society that we are able to think about, or scroll onto the next account.

Introducing RickDick, a photomontage and digital collage artist who created the above memes. The 33-year-old, currently based in Maremma (Tuscany, Italy), has been making photomontages and collages since he was young. Having a family PC allowed him to play around in Paint as a child, adding text to his images and modifing the shapes and colours of the image, he created a cartoonish effect that often had more intriguing visual impact than the original.

‘What I do are photomontages and digital collages,’ writes RickDick, ‘where I analyze, deconstruct and remodel, often in an ironic or counter-current key, inserting or modifying elements of an image to give it a new life.’

Having graduated from the Advertising Graphics Institute in his home city, RickDick went on to organise events and advertising campaigns for products, companies and local festivals. Outside of his 9-5, he continued to create his photomontages for the simple pleasures it gave him. However, he is not the only one who enjoys the creative work he creates. His 8,001 followers on Instagram are able to revel in the delights of his observations of contemporary life. Taking cues from the news and internet, particularly about celebrities that many of us know, RickDick researches through various sources, including: fashion magazines, art/design books, graphic websites and local/international news.

‘I capture new ideas or new inputs that can be reworked and exploited to create bizarre and fun ideas, trying to find the right impact.’

His work is considered a meme, those funny, relatable images we save, like, share and find solace, in the sense we aren’t alone in our human struggles. Yet, RickDick wonders if memes can be considered an art form? Certainly they can, with some university courses offering units dedicated to the study of them. However, what matters most is whether the creator/artist enjoys what he does.

‘What I do know is that what I do is what satisfies me the most,’ says RickDick, ‘and knowing that there are people who follow me and appreciate what I achieve fills me with joy.’

Whether it is a meme or art, RickDick’s photomontages and collages offer a subverted, minimalist reflection of Western society in all its superficial, funny, nuanced manners.