 |
Introduction |
 |
May 2005 - February 2006 Wilfrid Wood had eMailed me in May 2005 with a brief biography and, most importantly, a few images of his work. I followed the link to his site where I spent a whole evening going back and forth between the pictures of his characters. The fascination is difficult to describe. It is mostly the figures' personalities carefully 'built' into all of his characters that capture one's attention. Despite their basic forms and shapes, all figures show distinct details and expressions - sympathetic and humorous in a way that one would like to get to know them a bit better. Wilfrid mixes humor, irony, exaggeration, as well as sexual connotations in his work. The figures appear to be closer to 'real life' as compared to the usual clinically-cool, slick and neutral toys which have been flooding us for years. They are closer to life, more grown-up, they carry more meaning and have more character. I invited Wilfrid over to Berlin to be part of "untitled", an exhibition of street culture within the Bread and Butter trade show. While this 'culture' has been losing most of its initial energy and impact (due to the endless repetitions of the same concepts - whether it'd be in design, music, clothing, or toys for that matter), it is artists such as Wilfrid Wood - thankfully still an outsider to this world - who show us that there is potential for progress and creativity... if you take a step aside and/or forward. Find out more about Wilfrid's work and meet his figures: ENTER |
 |
|
 |