The war of the Keshi toys
Animes, mangas, and toys were the things that made childhood exciting for many Filipinos. Play times were scheduled around the timeslot of their favorite shows. Illustrations in mangas widen their imagination. And if they got hungry, they depend on the one-peso snacks they get from mom-and-pop stores. Not only are these treats tasty but they also have rewards inside. These nostalgic elements become the inspirations behind artist Arman Kendrick’s latest sculptures.
For this year’s The ManilaBang Show, Arman presented the newest installment of his “Tako Jimbo Universe Saga” series, a collection of sculptures that pays homage to Japan’s Keshi toy genre.
“What makes this current collection different is that this is the first time I have tried to create them to look like Keshi toys, those small plastic toys usually in one color that you find inside chips or you can buy from the market or outside your school,” the Arman tells Manila Bulletin. “I usually work with small-scale figures, and this is the first time I made big figures at three-feet tall.”
Being creative has been part of Arman’s life. His passion for toys, games, anime, and cartoons contributed a lot to his artistry. They were his escape then and even now as an adult. But his idea of pursuing a career in the arts didn’t solidify until he was in college. At first, he studied engineering at De La Salle University. After feeling the course wasn’t a perfect fit for him, he transferred to De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and took up industrial design, which honed his mastery of material manipulation and his grasp of the concept of beauty.
Arman’s newest creations for the “Tako Jimbo Universe Saga” series are nods to his early beginnings in the arts, back in his childhood years tinkering with toys and mixing and matching different parts to make his ideas come to life. The collection doesn’t just celebrate his skills in the craft but also his vast imagination.
In the course of three months of working on the collection, Arman crafted a story that guided him. His narratives often have Asian influences, from architecture and folklore to other historical references. This time, his sculptures depict a story that centers on warrior animals in a war against an evil emperor, an idea he has taken from the different animes and cartoons that he watched when he was young where heroes band together to beat the main antagonist.
“I start with the story, who the character is, why its form should be this way, and the composition,” the artist says. “Once I have that planned out, I sketch the silhouette, add and subtract, until I come up with something that resembles the original idea that I visualized.”
Since the beginning, Arman’s goal as an artist has been to share ideas and stories with people who are looking for experiences that are unique from their normal life. That goal continues today with his art aiming to take the audience to a safe and happy space, emotionally and mentally. Art, for him, is all about feelings. It was always about the user experience.
“I think art gives its consumers an experience that can transport them to another space, and, most of the time, make them feel better,” Arman muses. “Art asks questions that make us greater people in terms of understanding ourselves better and gaining more self-awareness. Simply making people feel happy is a much more gratifying purpose for me.”
Arman’s Keshi sculptures were presented at The ManilaBang Show last Dec. 8 to 11 at Festival Mall, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.