
POP HYBRIDS
‘Pop Hybrids’ are the reduction of identity into logo, individuality into the collective, photography into design. They are a subtraction of images: the recycling, re-using and reducing of two or more images into new iconography. As opposed to Warhol’s emphasis on repetition, these works combine individuals together (sometimes with themselves) and suggests that we are running out of space in our crowded collective conscience.
In antiquity, art was made to regale the gods, heroes, and myths of the day. Today, we regale celebrities, pop stars, actors and the characters they portray, artists, musicians, politicians and world leaders. Superficially, it's easy to label this body of work as a collection of 'pop art celebrity portraits', but they're more than that. They're modern day devotional images that deal with fluidity of identity, iconography, multiplicity, ironic duality and satirical juxtapositions. By layering together thoughtfully paired individuals, these pieces challenge the viewer to decipher the image while making sardonic, metaphorical and sometimes philosophical statements.
The series began as meticulously hand-painted acrylic on canvas pieces, which were then sealed in a resin coating. They were meant to look as precise as manufactured products, and many assumed that they were. I found pride in that, but it also gave me a nudge to actually push the process in that direction. It made conceptual sense to incorporate streamlined production which, in turn, made the work more widely available as limited editions, each design in a low numbered run. Now actual hybrids, somewhere between man and machine made, the ‘Pop Hybrid’ series is now designed digitally, printed on archival metallic photographic paper, and for the 12” editions, mounted to 2” deep cradled panels and coated in resin, or for the 24”, 36”, and 48” editions, optically face-mounted to museum grade acrylic and back-mounted to black sintra.
From Ross Lesko, Director of the Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery:
"Troy Gua is an artist whose work investigates identity, celebrity and popular culture. His Pop Hybrid series is a unique, superimposition of iconic faces and imagery, instantly recognizable on their own, but dissolved into a kind of Rorschach inkblot puzzle when merged—each viewer seeing something different, making his or her own subjective associations. The resulting hybrid image is a new and separate identity, functioning as irony and satire; as metaphor and social commentary. Each piece has its own narrative, whether humorous, poignant or intellectual."
©2008-2025 TROY GUA

Installation at SAM Gallery
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
December 2013

Installation at Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery
Cleveland, Ohio
July 2013



Installation at Washington State Convention Center
Seattle, Washington

Ali
Muhammad Ali at 5 life stages

Bowie
David Bowie at 4 life stages - a variation of Changes Two

Changes One
David Bowie at 4 life stages

Changes Two
David Bowie at 4 life stages

Changes Three
David Bowie at 4 life stages

Duran Duran
Andy Taylor + John Taylor + Nick Rhodes + Roger Taylor + Simon LeBon

Gemini I
Prince in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010

Gemini II
Prince in 1980, 1990. 2000, and 2010

iMacrosoft
Steve Jobs + Bill Gates

Jam and Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, legendary record producers, writers, musicians

Jenner 2.0
Bruce Jenner + Caitlyn Jenner

Just Kids
Robert Mapplethorpe + Patti Smith

Killer Queen
Freddie Mercury from 3 eras

La Dada Gaga
Lady Gaga + Marcel Duchamp’s L.H.O.O.Q.

Last Christmas
Wham! George Michael + Andrew Ridgeley

Los Pintores
Frida Kahlo + Diego Rivera

Lost Youth
Kurt Cobain + Chris Cornell + Layne Staley + Andrew Wood

Made in Heaven
George Washington (representing the dollar bill, i.e. money) + DaVincis Mona Lisa (representing art)

Men With No Names
Toshiro Mifune + Clint Eastwood

Mother and Daughter
Liza Minelli + Judy Garland

Mother and Daughter 2
Debbie Reynolds + Carrie Fisher

ONJ
Four images of Olivia Newton-John hybridized into this icon

PRN
Prince Rogers Nelson in three life stages

Sparks
Sparks brothers, Russell Mael and Ronald Mael

Synchronicity
The Police: Sting + Andy Summers + Stuart Copeland

Quincy
Quincy Jones at 4 life stages

RESPECT
Aretha Franklin in 4 eras

Rock and Roll
Chuck Berry + Little Richard

Tina
Tina Turner in 4 eras

Separate Paths, Common Goals
W.E.B. DuBois + Booker T. Washington

Ubermensch
Friedrich Nietzsche + Superman

The 007s, or Shaken, Not Stirred
Sean Connery + Sir Roger Moore

The Actors
Marlon Brando + Johnny Depp

The Amazing Graces
Grace Kelly + Grace Jones

The American Poets
Maya Angelou + Amanda Gorman

The Annies (or, The Little Orphan Annie Lennox)

The Architects, or The Franks 2.0
Frank Lloyd Wright + Frank Gehry

The Artists Formerly and Forever Known as Prince
Prince Rogers Nelson at three life stages

The Artists 2.0
Prince Rogers Nelson at three life stages

The Astronauts
Ham the chimp and Alan Shepard

The Astrophysicists
Albert Einstein + Neil de Grasse Tyson

The Baltimoreans
Edgar Allan Poe + John Waters

The Battle of the Currents
Thomas Edison + Nikola Tesla

The Beatles
John Lennon + Paul McCartney + George Harrison + Ringo Starr

The Bee Gees
Barry Gibb + Maurice Gibb + Robin Gibb + Andy Gibb

The Betteez
Bettie Page + Betty Rubble

The Black Panthers
Huey P. Newton + Bobby Seale + Black Panther

The Blonde Ambition
Madonna at 3 stages

The Blondies
Debbie Harry + vintage comic strip heroine, Blondie

The Bob Dylan Thomas
Bob Dylan + Dylan Thomas

The Boss
Bruce Springsteen at 3 stages

The Boy King of Pop
King Tutankhamun + Michael Jackson

The Boy King of Pop 2.0
King Tutankhamun + Michael Jackson

The Brains and the Beauty
Albert Einstein + Marilyn Monroe

The Burt and Ernie
Burt Reynolds + Ernie from Sesame Street

The Corleones
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone + Al Pacino as Michael Corleone

The Curious George Washington
Curious George + George Washington

The Davids
David Bowie + Michelangelo’s David

The Davids 2.0
David Bowie + Michelangelo’s David

The Davises, or The Revolutionaries
Musician Betty Davis + Angela Davis

The Divine
Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead) + Jesus Christ

The Doctors, or On the Couch
Dr. Sigmund Freud + Dr. Phil McGraw

The Dollys
Dolly Parton from 4 life eras

The Donalds
Donald Duck + Donald Trump

The Elton John Wayne
Elton John + John Wayne

The Enlightened
Mahatma Gandhi + Yoda

The Evolution Will Be Televised
Charles Darwin + Cornelius from Planet of the Apes

The Evolution Will Be Televised 2.0
Charles Darwin + Dr. Zaius from Planet of the Apes

The Factory, or I Want To Be a Robot
Maria from Metropolis + Edie Sedgwick

The First Ladies
Eleanor Roosevelt + Michelle Obama

The Futurists
Aldous Huxley + George Orwell

The Georges, or One Nation Under a Groove
George Washington + George Clinton

The Georges
George Michael at 3 stages

The Giant Leap
Apollo 11 NASA Astronauts Buzz Aldrin + Neil Armstrong + Michael Collins

The Greatest
Cassius Clay + Muhammad Ali

The Guitarists, or Crossroads Traffic
Robert Johnson + Jimi Hendrix

The Heroes (The Antiheroes)
Harrison Ford as Han Solo from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Rick Deckard from Blade Runner

The Highwaymen
Johnny Cash + Waylon Jennings + Kris Kristofferson + Willie Nelson

The Hip-Hop Holy Trinity
Afrika Bambaataa + Grandmaster Flash + Kool Herc

The IggyTwiggyZiggy
Iggy Pop + Twiggy + Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)

The Igors
Igor Stravinsky and Marty Feldman as Igor in Young Frankenstein

The Importance of Being Ernest
Oscar Wilde + Ernest Hemingway

The Jacks, or On the Road To Camelot
Jack Kerouac + Jack Kennedy

The Jean-Michelangelo
Jean-Michel Basquiat + Michelangelo

The Joans, or I Don't Give a Damn About My Bad Reputation
Joan of Arc + Joan Jett

The Kates
Kate Moss + Kate Middleton

The Kims, or The Lil Kim Jong Il
Lil Kim + Kim Jong Il

The Kims Two Point Un
Kim Kardashian + Kim Jong Un

The King Kong of Rock and Roll
Elvis Presley + King Kong

The King of Kings of Rock and Roll
Jesus Christ + Elvis Presley

The King of Rock
Run - DMC and Jam Master Jay

The Ladies Sang the Blues
Billie Holiday + Amy Winehouse

The Leaders
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. + Congressman John Lewis

The Lees
Bruce Lee + Brandon Lee

The Lennon/McCartney
John Lennon + Paul McCartney

The Leonards, or Who By Fire
Leonard Nimoy + Leonard Cohen

The Lefties
Jimi Hendrix + Kurt Cobain

The Lizard King of Kings
Jesus Christ + Jim Morrison

The Lucys
Lucille Ball + Lucy Van Pelt of the Peanuts

The Mad Max Headroom
Mel Gibson as Mad Max + Matt Frewer as Max Headroom

The Madonnas
Madonna + Mary Mother of Jesus

The Man Ray Charles
Man Ray + Ray Charles

The Martin Luther King of Rock and Roll
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. + Elvis Presley

The Marty and Bobby
Martin Scorsese + Robert DeNiro as Travis Bickle

The Martyrs
John F. Kennedy + Robert F. Kennedy + Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Marxes
Groucho Marx + Karl Marx


The Michaels
Michael Jackson at 3 stages

The Michaels 2.0
Michael Jackson at 3 stages

The Mickey Mao 2.0
Mickey Mouse + Chairman Mao

The Mona Lisa Marie
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa + Lisa Marie Presley

The Music and Lyrics
Elton John + Bernie Taupin

The Mutual Muses
Lee Miller + Man Ray

The Napoleon Complex
Napoleon Bonaparte + Prince

The Olivia Newton John Holmes, or Sweet and Salty
Olivia Newton-John + John Holmes

The Orators
Abraham Lincoln + Frederick Douglass

The Orators 2.0
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. + Barack Obama

The Pee Wee Herman Melville
Paul Reubens as Pee Wee Herman + Herman Melville

The Pee Wee Herman Munster
Paul Reubens as Pee Wee Herman + Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster

The Pharaoh Fawcett
Akhenaten + Farrah Fawcett

The Pleasure's All Mine
Angelina Jolie + random orgasmic internet woman

The Pope Francis Albert Sinatra, or Sinners and Saints
Pope Francis + Francis Albert Sinatra

The Pope Francis Bacon
Pope Francis + Francis Bacon

The Pope John Paul Stanley
Pope John Paul II + Paul Stanley of Kiss

The Presidents
Abraham Lincoln + Barack Obama

The Princesses, or Girls on Film
Princess Diana + Princess Grace of Monaco

The Princesses 2.0
Princess Diana + Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia

The Producers
Giorgio Moroder + Brian Eno

The Queens of England
Queen Elizabeth II + Boy George

The Queens of England 2.0
Queen Elizabeth II + Freddie Mercury

The Raggedy Ann and Andy
Raggedy Ann + Andy Warhol

The Renaissance Men
Louis Armstrong + Langston Hughes

The Renaissance Women
Josephine Baker + Zora Neale Hurston

The Rick James Brown, or Superbad Superfreak
Rick James + James Brown

The Ronald McReagan
Ronald McDonald + Ronald Reagan

The Rons
Ron Jeremy + Ron Howard

The Salvador Dali Lama
Salvador Dali + the Dalai Lama

The Santa Klaus Nomi

The Sid and Nancy
Sid Vicious + Nancy Reagan

The Smiths
Patti Smith + Robert Smith of the Cure

The Stevies
Stevie Wonder at 2 stages

The Stones
Mick Jagger + Keith Richards

The Storytellers
Ernest Hemingway + Rakim

The Surrealists
Jean Cocteau + David Lynch

The Sylvesters
Sylvester Stallone + Disco legend Sylvester

The Symbionts
Jean-Michel Basquiat + Andy Warhol

The Throne
Jay-Z + Kanye West

The Venus de Miley
Venus de Milo + Miley Cyrus

The Venus and Serena
The Venus de Milo + Serena Williams

The Voices
James Baldwin + Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Woody Allen Ginsberg
Woody Allen + Allen Ginsberg

The Wilsons
Ann Wilson + Nancy Wilson of Heart at 3 life stages

The Writers
Franz Kafka + William S. Burroughs

The X and the O
Malcom X + Barack Obama

Thirty Five Purple Years
Prince in 1978 and 2013

Tim + Johnny = Edward
Tim Burton + Johnny Depp as ‘Edward Scissorhands’

With Liberty and Justice for All
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg + the Statue of Liberty

You Say You Want a Revolution
Vladimir Lenin + John Lennon


































































































































































