During the summer, I travelled to Japan, a country well-known for its vibrant toy culture. I visited various stores and exhibitions. I talked to some collectors there about why they collect all these objects. I also attended an event hosted by the famous designer toys company Medicom Toy, where I talked with one collector who queued to buy all the new Bearbrick launched.
Mandarake
This is one of Japan’s most famous second-hand and used goods shops, specialising in collectibles and comic book characters. Mandarake was established in 1980 in Tokyo’s Nakano Broadway as a used bookstore/manga store. It’s best known for selling second-hand collectibles and toys. It is almost like a thrift store for toys.
When I visited many branches of Mandarake, I wondered where they got those vintage toys, rare items, art toys, etc. Then, I found that they buy from people who want to sell their collectible items. After buying an item, they set the price according to how rare it is, arrange it into a category, and sell it. The images below show the sales counter where people come to sell their items to Mandarake.
Medicom Toy Exhibition
Medicom Toy is a Japanese brand founded in 1996 that specialises in creating collectable toys and action figures. It aims to create collectable art pieces rather than normal toys, so its products are sold in limited quantities. The most popular line of toys is the BE@RBRICK series, which is a series of bear-shaped figures imprinted with different designs.
Medicom Toy will have an exhibition from 23 to 28 July in Tokyo, Japan. This is the 22nd exhibition since 2003. The purpose of the exhibition is to exhibit the upcoming collection, sell the new collection, and exhibit the old collection, which is the company’s history.
When I arrived, there was a long line in front of the venue, just as the exhibition opened. There were adults in the line. There were two lines: one to go to the shop products and another to enter the show. Most people were in line waiting to shop.
Going to the exhibition was a useful experience for my project. I gained a deeper understanding of art toys’ function in evoking emotions and fostering artistic engagement. These realizations will be very beneficial for organizing my future intervention and narrowing down my investigation.
As I mentioned earlier, I had a chance to talk to some people who bought art toys. They said they love collecting art toys because they remind them of their childhood; all those characters they like make them happy.
This nostalgic connection often comforts them, showing these toys’ emotional value. This reminds me of emotions that are also connected to the feedback from the first intervention. I realised that emotional well-being is another important aspect that I would like to explore in my project.
I have written down my reflections from this trip, which inspired me to explore more emotions and art toys.