ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

Jessica Fortner is a Toronto-based artist who escapes the confines of “creepy cute” with what I’m going to call “creepy, yet whimsical, esoterica.” Jessica fabricates environments and characters out of polymer clay (Super Sculpey) and other materials that she finds. After staging them, she photographs the scene. You can see some of the amazing results below, as well as on her Flickr page. She manages to capture such a quiet, lonely sadness with Sculpey. Padlock Pete and Mrs. Hubermann (with the accordion) are two expert examples of that. Put Jessica on your radar: she’s joining custoMONDAY next month! Also in March: You can see her Ping Pong Masters sculptures in the Spraygraphic Mini Mini show in Arizona.