Local creative establishment Mighty Jaxx debuts onto the international toy scene with much fanfare at the 2012 San Diego International Comic Convention. Injecting a spunky attitude while adding a deeply reflective stance to the traditional concept of collectable toys, Mighty Jaxx presents its first artisan designed and made premium art figure – Hell Lotus.
Hell Lotus was the outcome of an ingenious collaboration with one of the best minds from the local urban scene – Clogtwo. This eight-inch creation is more than an art figure, it is a character designed based on a dash of fantasy with a touch of culture.
Clogtwo tells the story of Hell Lotus…
Spreading its fear and serenity to a truly international platform, Hell Lotus has garnered fantastic feedback from the community, praising the local upstart on its visionary design and high-quality execution. On top of this, the initial interest Hell Lotus had aroused within the community by its visuals alone have generated encouraging pre-order numbers, largely from the US market.
Priding itself as truly one that values what the thriving local urban street arts scene has to offer to an international platform, Mighty Jaxx draws its inspiration from the everyday local.
“Mighty Jaxx is really born from a passion and inclination towards giving a whole new perspective to how the international toy-art scene views our local urban art scene. We really want to showcase to the world that Singapore has its own unique urban art identity and with our first collaboration with visionary artist Clogtwo resulting in Hell Lotus’ peculiar identity and design – we believe have done so. It is also more about the organic growth of what we have and really, turning extraordinary ideas into reality,” says Jackson Aw, brainchild of Mighty Jaxx.
“Mighty Jaxx wants to push local talents onto the international stage. It’s no longer ‘made locally, by locals for locals’. Instead, it’s for a worldwide stage.”
N: Any challenges encountered along the way?
J: This is a whole new experience for both of us. For me, it’s mainly about exploring the manufacturing, production and conceptual aspects. But for Clogtwo, it’s about dealing with the concept of the artwork and the different views of the figurine because he had always been doing 2D artwork that only presents one view.
C: I need to design the figurine in four different views – top, bottom and sides. To do a more elaborate drawing of all corners is more difficult as I need to add in all the details.
N: Was there a need to compromise on the design due to the challenges faced?
C: Nope. Actually, Jackson wanted me to include more details so there was more free play for me. He wanted to push the manufacturer to the limits with all the details. In the end, everything was perfectly done.
J: This is one crucial way that we work – it’s not like we try to squeeze everything into a box, we create the box ourselves. I don’t want Clogtwo to be restricted. I want his exact idea of how Hell Lotus should be.
N: We understand that the figurine also has interchangeable parts. This is interesting. Tell us more.
J: The object that Hell Lotus is holding can be switched between a key and a fireball. And the hand sign on the right hand is changeable as well – peace sign and the middle finger.
C: The idea behind the hand signs is that Hell Lotus is supposed to bring good luck and enlightenment, at the same time, it’s a fallen angel. The edgy characteristic is sort of a reflection of myself because when I do my artwork, I try to put my personality into it. Jackson also proposed to do a middle finger. And I was like ‘why not’? It makes Hell Lotus a character rather than just a toy.
J: With an idol, you pray to it and sort of reason with it like could you help me and stuff. In this case, the idol is like, “Why don’t you just fuck off. Too much already!” I think it’s hilarious.
C: Plus, we usually think of god when we are in a dire situation and we ask for help. Then for the rest of the time, we wouldn’t think of god. So the middle finger also refers to the idol saying, “So you only think of me now? Fuck off!”
Mighty Jaxx will be exhibiting Hell Lotus items at the upcoming Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention (STGCC) at Marina Bay Sands on 1 September 2012. The exhibition will include the highly exclusive colourway version which is limited to 25 sets.