Monika Viktoria is an Australian artist, painter, designer and indie toy maker who recently debuted her very first designer toy – the Singing Bryophyte resin. Which was made in collaboration with UK based manufacturer ‘Made By Cooper’.

Like many designer toy fans and artists – hello Paul Kaiju – Monika first became exposed to the world of designer toys and customising thanks to Blythe. She has been working in the fine art and designer / custom toy and doll worlds for many years now, to much acclaim.

Monika grew up as a teenager in Australia with an absent father and sick mother, taking solace as a teenager in the digital world of Zelda, and the fantasy world of elves, archery, nature and general whimsy. Themes prevalent in Monika’s work to this day.

(Photo below of  some Bryophyte art by Monika)

So without further ado, now is the perfect time to find out more about Monika, her art and life, by reading the Art Talk interview below…

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• Produced By = Frank Mysterio (Mexico)
• Figure Name = ‘Primitivo’ aka ‘Primitive Monster’
• Custom By = Frank Mysterio (one off custom)
• Release Details = Frank Mysterio – ‘Primitivo’ aka ‘Primitive Monster’ soft vinyl – One Off (Custom request by Art Whore from February 2017)
• Material = Soft Vinyl (made in Mexico)
• Country of Production = Mexico
• Height = 23 cm
• Depth = 7 cm
• Width = 15 cm (arm to arm)
• No of Parts = 4 (head, body + 2 arms)
• Released = February 2017
• Sculpt Debut = February 2017
• Price = US$ 70
• Genre = Sofvi

Read the full review and pics after the jump…

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• Produced By = ‘DRWGco’ (Wales)
• Figure Name = The Assassin (From the ongoing Secret Chiefs series)
• Custom By = Keegan Kaya McGee (Did the header art, the included sticker and also picked the keshi colorway)
• Release Details = DRWGco – The Assassin keshi – Keegan Kaya McGee Collab – Swirl Rubber Series of 30.
• Material = Keshi (made in the UK)
• Country of Production = UK (keshi production by ‘Tru Tek’)
• Height = 6cm
• Depth =  6cm (nose to rear hand)
• Width =  5.25cm (foot to foot)
• No of Parts = 1
• Extras = Cardboard header + foil sticker
• Released = January 2017
• Sculpt Debut = September 2016
• Release Price = $US 15
• Genre = Keshi

Read the full review and pics after the jump…

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• Produced By = ‘Kaiju Light Society’ (China X Canada)
• Custom By = 5k1nna (Australia)
• Release Details = Part of 4 One Offs (Released Blind Bag Style)
• Material = Soft Vinyl
• Country of Production = China
• Height = 22cm
• No of Parts = 5 (Head, arms, legs + torso)
• Released = Late 2016
• Sculpt Debut = July 2016
• Release Price = US $120 + shipping
• Genre = Art Toy / Kaiju

Read the full review and pics after the jump…

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Ok guys. So we have decided it was time to start writing some critical articles about art toys. Opinion pieces, reviews and the like. Art toys are dear to us at ‘Art Whore’ – being the very reason the site was established back in 2012 when we interviewed resin slinger Peter of ‘Killer Bootlegs’ fame.

We established ‘Art Whore’ as there was nothing around back then that was online and free to access which provided interviews or further knowledge about the developing resin toy scene, and the greater art toy scene in general. So we started interviewing the artists involved. But just interviewing. Apart from a few guest reviews by Ms. Ramsey and Mr. Kevin Malone we have been reluctant to get critical… We just didn’t feel we knew enough. Had the knowledge.

However, we now feel a similar gap currently exists with regards to critically evaluating art toys – and we are willing to get involved. Yes there are news sites noting new releases, yes there are unboxing videos, yes there are podcasts and yes there are some critical pieces out there – see a list of links to relevant sites at the end of this piece. However most of the currently available media is just lust or hate for a particular piece – with little to no critical commentary.

Now, with that said, so as to not just arbitrarily start blasting our opinions – we felt it was best to start with a general FAQ explaining what we feel art toys are and how we will go about critiquing them.

Read it all, below…

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