Hello friends! I’ve been really busy over the past couple of months preparing for art shows and working on commissions. Here is my latest work for a private collector, Mizu No Kami, which means Water God in Japanese. They are a pair of custom Kidrobot dunnies and my second set that involves a full diorama. My first diorama was the Matsu Sea Goddess dunny that I made for another collector.
You can view more photos of Mizu No Kami in my Art & Toys Gallery.
I have come to really enjoy making dioramas for my toys because it creates a world around the toy. Usually when you buy a toy or doll, you put it on a shelf where it lives in your world. A diorama brings you into the toy’s world, instead of the toy being placed in our reality.
When I was a little girl, I made my own dollhouse using my bookcase, scraps of fabric, and whatever nicknacks I had lying around. Objectively, it probably looked like a pile of junk held together by binder clips. But to 7-year old me, it was a Barbie mansion. I didn’t want to play with my toys in this world – I wanted to play in their world. I want to bring this feeling of immersion with all of my toys. That’s why I like to take photos of my toys in environments, or photoshop them in magical places.
I would love to create entire worlds for all of my toys, but usually a custom base is enough to suggest a setting. The ones that I created for Alice In Candyland and Marie & Bonbon are good examples.
You can expect to see more custom toy and diorama sets from me in the future. I have an upcoming Sanrio-themed art show at P!Q Grand Central next month plus some new customs that will all feature their own miniature worlds.
Thanks for reading my blog! Follow me on Instagram for more updates on my work, and if you want your own custom dunny set, shoot me an email hello@mjhsu.com
Have a great day!
~MJ
