THE CREATURES IN BELL'S HEAD

British-born, New York-based artist, Andrew Bell, is a rising star in the vinyl toy scene. Making his first appearance in Southeast Asia at the upcoming Singapore Toy, Games and Comic Convention 2011, he’ll be showcasing his O-No Sushi series and his Android collectibles. Known for deftly melding cute aesthetics with black humour, CATALOG took a risk and picked at Bell’s brain…

Congratulations on winning Fan Favorite at the Designer Toy Awards 2011! This is your time to give your acceptance speech without the band playing you off.

I didn’t get played off, but I wasn’t prepared to win! Since it was a fan favorite award, I obviously have to thank the fans for voting for me! I didn’t expect to win, so I’m happy to hear everyone loves the product so much. Of course the other big thanks goes to Google for helping to bring it to life.

How did you get to design for the Android series?

A friend of mine, formerly a comic artist, was a developer on the original Android team. A few designers at Google were also fans of vinyl toys, and when they were thinking of fun things to do with the Android mascot, they gave me a call!

When did you first decide to be a designer?

don’t think I ever decided to become a designer; it was just a natural thing to do. In my youth, I surrounded myself with the culture of skateboarding and video games, both very visual industries. I probably spent more time designing my own skateboard decks or video game graphics than I did actually skateboarding or playing.

Your O-No series makes us want to reconsider sushi, what is it about the cute and the creepy that you find appealing?

I love seeing people’s reactions to pieces like that. At first they smile at the fun imagery and bright colors, and then they start to think about what it really represents and their attitude changes. I think that is the essence of life and learning. You can get by and be happy taking things at surface level, but if you really dig deeper, things can get very dark very quickly!

You’ve been attending conventions for a while, do you find it draining? How do you keep it fun?

They can be very taxing. It is great to meet fans and draw for people, but it is also weeks and weeks of prep work, booth setup, merchandise design and logistics. After a big one like the annual International Comic-Con in San Diego, I usually need a week to recover! I keep them fun by enjoying my time outside of the convention center after the doors close, hanging out with fellow artists, fans and friends at parties, or just hanging in hotel rooms.

Text by Wayne Cheong.

Interview courtesy of Reed Exhibitions.

Images courtesy of Andrew Bell.