Thomas Daskalakis
Toys
Toys for education and toys for entertainment. Toys that are created as miniature representations of people and their lives.
Homes, airplanes, dreamy Malibu beach Houses, taxis, trucks; all created with the intention of being tender and cute for us to play with them. Only to be stored away in boxes, thrown in basements, traumatized and dusty. Imitating what we witness happening in the parameters of a city, the urban “toys” that are damaged, vandalized, dirty, and dusty.
The project “What kind of Toys do that?” analyzes the rejection of adolescence and plays with the laws of nature. These objects represent the urban “toys” one finds in a city, the ones we don't use or visit, not anymore anyway.
“I source the toys I use from second hand shops; I believe discovering them there means that they have fulfilled their purpose, which is to entertain. I want to give them a new lease on life and a new story to tell. By using materials that are commonly used for protests like acrylic paint, markers, sprays, fire, or construction materials and objects I’ve collected from the street I attempt to either create hard contrasts or to emphasize the cuteness of the toys.” - Thomas Daskalakis