Rediscovering Childhood: The Journey Behind Toy Stories
Did you play with toys growing up? Whether they were homemade or store-bought, toys likely played a significant role in your childhood, sparking your imagination and providing an escape into a world of fantasy.
The COVID-19 pandemic, with its global lockdowns and restrictions, has forced many of us to re-evaluate how we cope with isolation. For many, toys—whether old favorites or new distractions—have provided a much-needed escape during these challenging times.
Toy Stories: A Creative Follow-Up to Sweet Tooth
The Toy Stories project emerged as a continuation of my earlier Sweet Tooth series, which explored synthetic dyes derived from crude oil in mass-produced candy. In Toy Stories, I shifted focus to the toys of my childhood, particularly those infused with the same synthetic elements. These toys, such as the wind-up robots featured in the “We Are The Robots” diorama, helped me reconnect with the joy and creativity of being a child, allowing me to revisit that sense of wonder.
As a child, the line between fantasy and reality was often blurred, and this sense of escape presented both a challenge and an opportunity in developing this project. The process began with sketches and designs for the various miniatures and dioramas, though not all ideas made the final cut. For instance, I initially planned a piece commenting on LEGO’s 50-year partnership with Shell Oil Company, but ultimately discarded it as it felt too direct and lacked the subtlety I was aiming for.
Other ideas, like the “Dump Trucks” sketch, were also left behind due to logistical challenges. My studio’s limited space made it difficult to accommodate the large-scale dioramas, which required careful planning and precise camera work to capture the intricate details.
Challenges in Blurring Fantasy and Reality
As I worked on Toy Stories, my goal was to create relatable scenes that would resonate with viewers on both a nostalgic and visual level. I paid close attention to details like scale, movement, light, and perspective to ensure that each environment felt both familiar and immersive. For example, in the “Plastic Wheels Keep on Turning” photograph, understanding the relationship between the toy cars and their environment was crucial to achieving the desired impact.
The project was intended for a gallery exhibition, so I focused on creating images that would engage viewers and invite them to explore the finer details. However, as the deadline approached, some revisions were necessary. One piece, “Nanook,” underwent significant changes, including the replacement of an oil tanker ship with an oil rig model. Building this model was a challenge, given the tight timeline and my inexperience with model building, but I managed to complete it just before the pandemic fully took hold in the United States.
Toy Stories offered me a nostalgic escape into my childhood, despite the frustrations and challenges along the way. As I reflect on the current state of the world, I find myself pondering the future of toys and the role they will play in the lives of children growing up in a post-pandemic world. By 2050, will toys continue to offer an escape into fantasy, or will the lines between fantasy and reality blur even further?