Getting Familiar with Familiar Meatus: Interview with Gabriel "DIKO" Tiongson
TOYSREVIL: How did "Familiar Meatus" come about? What was it's genesis?
GABRIEL "DIKO" TIONGSON: Familiar Meatus (pronounced mi·tus) slowly crept out of my head while I was admiring toys from my toy pile. I had a Gumba and a Super Mario figure hanging around and just chilling.
My natural urge to attach extra limbs and parts on a single organism started to kick in. I started by taking apart the bodies of each toy. Unsurprisingly I began swapping heads and seeing how a torso would look with a different head attached. The Gumba’s head seemed like an ideal fit on the body of Mario. Plus, the head was bulky and had enough space to work in some details. The pelvis and feet of the Gumba reminded me of a backpack. And so I tried fastening it to the back of the torso of Mario.
For some weird reason, the figure in front of me was working. It reminded me of a little demon who would whisper mischievous intent into a person’s ear. I went with that and built it up with more devilish features. I called it a familiar since it literally was a little demon and Meatus because it looked like a familiar body part. Meat, because the head was fleshy and bulbous. I felt like Sid from Toy Story, the difference was that I loved my toys.
TOYSREVIL: Was FM created specifically to be made into a collectible? I still remember your Squidwad WIP sculpt too! (…whatever happened to that?). How did the VoV piece come about?
GABRIEL "DIKO" TIONGSON: FM was created because I love making things my own. And I got to make my own toy by combining others toys. Other similar feelings that share this process was when I receive a Lego spaceship set when I was younger. I never had the patience to read and follow the instructions to build the spaceship. Instead, I would make my own through trial and error. In the end, I felt more accomplished and excited since it was my own. Made from the joy of creating, FM was born. I decided to share my demon as an art toy collectible in STGCC 2013.
GABRIEL "DIKO" TIONGSON: The Squidward sculpt had some issues with production. I was really excited for that, but things didn’t go the way it was planned. Hopefully I can revive him some time. The figure was drawn from the prints I made for my first show. It seemed fit to turn into 3D. I talked with VoV gallery about it and tried to make things happen. Unfortunately things didn’t go our way. In regards to FM, VoV helped me develop it and finalize the color ways to be released. Much love VoV.
TOYSREVIL: Having created FM in 2013 and talking about it now, what do you feel about the piece? Anything you would have done differently at all?
GABRIEL "DIKO" TIONGSON: FM is definitely my baby. It was a self-funded project and I was just happy to have the opportunity to share it with other liked minded people. I am proud of it and how it turned out. One thing I could have improved on was the social media sharing. I was so focused on the production that I overlooked sharing FM’s story. I would have wanted it to get more attention since I worked hard to bring it to fruition. That is an area where in I am lacking.
TOYSREVIL: Why do a TOYSREVIL-Edition?
GABRIEL "DIKO" TIONGSON: The biggest reason is that you (Andy) share the same passion that I have when it comes to toys, drawings, illustrations, and art. When we create, we are overjoyed. And it feels so good that we want to share this feeling with other people. It gets mixed reactions, but the act of sharing our joy is what counts. I wanted to do a Toysrevil edition since you love to share your joy and your stories. It made perfect sense. I am glad that we were able to do a little project together. Cheers Andy!
NEXT UP with "Getting Familiar with Familiar Meatus", I indulge in presenting the Making-Of the TOYSREVIL-Edition Familiar Meatus, leading to it's subsequent online release :)
GABRIEL "DIKO" TIONGSON is currently studying in Visual Arts, in New Zealand, and can be found via: Tumblr / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Facebook ArtistPage / DIKO #onTOYSREVIL.
