I started this current illustrative ceramic approach to convey heavy character individualism while also activating my voice as a fine art artist for individually made figurines to be appreciated of their contextual value. The figurine art scene has increasingly shifted from artistic expression to consumerism, where figurines have been valued more for their marketability rather than character representation, resulting in over-commercialization and mass production, unnecessary consumption, copyright and originality issues, and labor exploitation issues. Through their cuteness, the emotional comfort that toy figurines, like the Japanese figurines called “Sonny Angels” and “Smiskis” have given to Gen Z have caused worldwide shortages as the creating companies have struggled to meet the demand. These figurines are packaged in mystery boxes, making every unboxing flooding with expectations to redeem a new doll. But once unopened as a repeated purchase, their values dilute, making their characters consumed for the purpose of compulsive collecting. The automatic regime of unboxings made me reflect on how the simplicity of these dolls have enabled consumers to lack appreciation for the characteristic quality but rather value on quantity appreciation from the minimal range of postures, names, facial expressions, and origins. Therefore, I handbuilt my own figurines minding their own businesses to portray specific individualism of diverse characters using specific activities, expressions, poses, and outfits.
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