TOYSREVIL @ Proto Toyz & Friends (at Aliwal Arts Center)
Showcased here are "booth tour" videos of the PROTO TOYZ & FRIENDS toy exhibition at Nimble Mystic Gallery (housed on the second floor or Aliwal Art Center), which I'd clumsily filmed on the night of January 25th, forgive me :p (Event: Jan 24-26, 2025), along with description/text from @nimblemystic ... plus some of my unsolicited "impressions", cheers :p
MYSTIQUE TORMENT
From the abysmal depths of forgotten and forbidden magic comes the latest colourway of NK1's TORMENT.
Produced in a sky blue soft vinyl and meticulously painted by hand, this exploiter of necromantic sorcery comes complete with necklaces of 3D printed (and more hand painted) skulls. Trophies from battles won eons past by the nimblest of dark mystics.
(Above watchable here on Instagram)
Header-card art by Chris Chai (@cosmicchai).
As well NK1's assorted soft vinyl creations were also showcased, including hand-painted & blank "BEST FRIEND(s)" sofubi & "TANTO" (Blue colorway edition), with select pieces to be found online via via niki11111.storenvy.com!
(Above watchable here on Instagram)
Artwork (Prints showcased behind exhibit) from Chris Chai & Gabriel De Souza (@wolfsloth).
MY HUMBLE IMPRESSIONS: I am continuingly impressed, and in awe of "Indie toy-making" in Singapore, with their self-made journeys into their art and interpretations of, beyond their "usual", and beyond my personal scope of vision too, and having this sense of "discovery" for me ("personally", at least) is what continues to fascinate me about "creation" in the local toy-scene and community, as fractured as I imagine it to be... Now I just need to see them ALL under one single roof and killing the scene...!
W.E.Y.K.
We Eat Your Kids is a collection of original sofubi creations by artist, graphic designer and graffiti writer Chong Wah @seedoubleyouuu.
The series explores the artist’s deep connection to the often separate worlds of graffiti and sofubi, resulting in one-off painted pieces that exist squarely in both.
(Above watchable here on Instagram)
MY HUMBLE IMPRESSIONS: Two main W.E.Y.K. character mascots made sofubi toy, showcased in a variety of hand-paints and custom-makes on (in)action figures, evokes the multiple colorway toy-memories of yesteryears' production releases from brands, as well "potential" of the toys themselves as platforms, methinks. Although makes me wonder what was/is their "true" one colorway (if any)... my personal fave were the "flesh" blanks, which provided me a cleaner and much clearer visual understanding of them (wished there were moire to be read and understood, beyond purely "aesthetics", IMHO), and something I feel is "relatable" anywhere in the world, as it is a colorway "understood" by all who make (sofubi) toys = like a "rite of passage"! #lovethis
PROTOTOYZ
#ProtoToyz is a collaboration between artist Taketo Kobayashi @humanoise and several local artists that use @mimaki3d.singapore’s full colour 3D printing technology to create limited run collectibles according to each artist’s voice and vision.
The collectibles bridge the gap between toy and sculpture, resulting in extremely unique pieces that straddle the line of ornament and play.
(Above video watchable here on Instagram)
Artists include:
ZERO (@zero_x_rscls_o)
Adeline Tan (@yell0w)
KIT (@kitctrlaltdelyou)
Boon Baked (@boonbake_)
SPEAK CRYPTIC (@speakcryptic)
Williem Siddik (@siddwills)
Race Krehel (@supersengettown)
Chris Chai (@cosmicchai)
MY HUMBLE IMPRESSION: The array of visual splendour is mind-bogglingly impressive, and at most times admittedly overwhelmed my sense (:p) ... along with its pattern interpretation and sculpted form, some of whom have graced CO PLAY (at Plaza Singapura), along with new creations, including the debut of 惯犯 by ANTZ! I'll take a closer look in another feature, thank you... #soexcited
The following (embedded) video from Humanoise is a much clearer and brighter booth tour of the sculpts!
JOMOHEADS
Inspired by the earthenware artefacts uncovered from the Jomon period in ancient Japan comes Humanoise Taketo Kobayahi’s original sofubi series "Jomoheads".
The collection is essentially a fusion of both Jomon and modern street culture through the prism of anthropomorphic entities that embody the spirit of both the ancient and contemporary world.
Produced as Japanese Soft Vinyl toys (sofubi), this extremely limited series features both 6 one-off custom painted pieces by several local artists as well as a set of 3 unpainted figures.
Participating Artists include:
ANTZ (@antz_rscls)
Adeline Tan (@yell0w)
Gabriel De Souza (@wolfsloth)
NK1/Niki11111 (@niki11111)
ZCXZ (@zcxz)
(Above watchable here on Instagram)
MY HUMBLE IMPRESSIONS: Intrigued by the character design's origins (which thankfully there were online descriptions to be had for), and fascinated to see artists' interpretations and art on them, which you'll have to seek their individual IGs to see who-did-what tho ... but absolutely welcome folks not particularly "recognizable" in the toy-scene and would love to see more of, and the continuation of their toy-art, cheers.
Sneak peek #AliwalUAF2025 Exhibits at #NimbleMysticStudio on #TOYSREVIL: https://t.co/M5AWNBRVdG
— toysrevil (@toysrevil) January 23, 2025
4 mini exhibitions from 14 artists!
24- 26 Jan 2025 (12pm - 10pm)
WHERE: https://t.co/VjhHA5AFBG
@ Aliwal Arts Centre, #02-08https://t.co/ap0Upydi3B#toysblog pic.twitter.com/EmKAAavYdM
This 4 X mini exhibition(s) are apart of the Aliwal Urban Arts Festival 2025.
WHEN: 24- 26 Jan 2025 (12pm - 10pm)
WHERE: NIMBLE MYSTIC STUDIO (instagram.com/nimblemystic)
@ Aliwal Arts Centre, #02-08
instagram.com/aliwalartscentre
facebook.com/AliwalArtsCentre
BONUS FEATURE: Poster illustration by @papa.dem!
