ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

I love getting emails from around the world about designer toy events. It reminds me that when I explain to non-collectors about “our little community,” it’s not that micro at all. Thanks to a tip from toy photographer Abe Sapien (Hellboy enthusiast, perhaps?), I’m newly aware that Wroclaw Poland is the current site of a hugely successful art toy expo. The first major designer toy expo in Poland launched January 23rd. It was founded by Subnormal and organized in cooperation with the BWA Wroclaw-Galleries of Contemporary Art and Canon.

The show features toys from the private collection of Gerard Poot, head of Highlandtoys in Holland. Gerard’s collection includes early pieces from Michael Lau and Bounty Hunter, a big selection of 1000% Kubricks and Be@rbricks and many works by KAWS, James Jarvis and brands like Toy2R, Kidrobot, PI, Unklbrand and Crazy Label. Abe Sapien’s toy photography is also on display. Through his lens, he introduces the toys into often surprising environments making them part of a broader context or story. And last but not least, what would a designer toy expo be without some new character designs? Enter Polish artist, Szy Mura, whose Character Design projects uses the Dunny template to create large-scale customized jigsaw puzzles.

Check out a few pictures from the show, which runs until February 2nd, below as well as through the gallery here and Subnormal’s Flickr set here. Very very cool! When you hear about stuff like this, aren’t you suddenly filled with the urge to travel? Keep sending me news of worldwide toy takeovers!