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The vinyl toy market has come a long way since 1997 when Hong Kong artist Michael Lau first flaunted his creativity across standard issue GI Joes and Actionman figures. It’s crazy to think that that one simple act of playing urban dress-up has not only given him, and the gaggle of designers that followed, deity status among the fanatically informed; he literally invented a genre of art by transforming toy into sculpture.

Creating something of real value in a hyper-accelerated, and heavily saturated, culture with an insatiable appetite for trends is not the easiest thing to do—especially in the media bukkake of hype circle. It seems like everything these days (sneakers, hats, skateboards, t-shirts—shower curtains, ashtrays and coffee mugs not excluded) has a collaboration or Limited Edition stamp on it. Anticipating what will merit artistic weight in the future is like being skilled in the game of dice.

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