I'm not exactly sure what to call this type of post. I frequently help out / partner with people who create, design and otherwise promote collectible toys, so I tend to get a lot of samples and freebies in the mail.
I'm not gonna lie to you- I didn't buy this figure. Josh of
Art Whore kindly mailed one to me without even telling me, and it's awesome and has a pretty detailed backstory and history so I figured I'd share with you.
This is, I suppose, the type of post I'm SUPPOSED to be doing frequently as an art toy blogger... after all, this blog serves as a platform to expose new figures to a wider audience. I guess I'm supposed to tell all the toy creators to mail me their pieces to review, but that just seems greedy, honestly. For the past few reviews we've posted here, I've had the companies or artists send the samples directly to my other bloggers, as I'd prefer to cut them in on the freebies. One of the perks of writing for the Tenacious.Ninja blog I guess.
By the way,
Art Whore is a cool website from Australia's Convict Town run by a bloke named Josh. He really goes in depth with his interviews of various people around the world that produce toys. Really interesting site, highly recommended.
He interviewed yours truly in 2014. Check all the other amazing interviews
here in their archives. Set aside some time, there's a lot of reading there.
Anyway, not long ago I got the above item in the mail: ENKKI. Here's the ENKKI character backstory:
“ENKKI was born from the ur black hole exploding many many millennia ago.
Before this explosion there was Nothingness. Stillness. Blackness...
Then... A snap... Light. Through the light, apart from the blackness was ENKKI - A corporeal being. Part of space, yet apart from space.
Yet ENKKI was not alone, for the explosion also sent out from it's center dust - a side effect from the explosion. A dust that would eventually spread throughout all of time and space.
A dust we humans now identify as
DMT.
On Earth DMT populated itself in the purely physical realm of nature – existing as plants.
And ENKKI... well ENKKI continues to travel the 4th dimensional universe as an intergalactic salesman, hawking the wares of spirituality were ever he roams, accessible for brief periods by the DMT imbibers.
ENKKI has landed many times on our Earth and countless other universes spreading it's word to the imbibers and associated followers.
Is it doing good? Evil? Working alone? For an unseen ‘force’?
Only the universe knows…”
The story doesn't end there, though. This figure was a labor of love, and MANY people (knowing and unknowing) contributed to its existence- here's the story as told by Josh:
WAYYYYY back in like 2009 i first discovered 'The Sucklord' - my gateway drug into the designer toy scene.
I immediately fell in love with Morgan's work - and also figured, hell, anyone can do that! So i grabbed an old ET toy and a crucifix i had lying round... (us Jews keep crucifixes at hand just in case...) and began to cut n splice.
Well, turns out anyone CAN make a 1-ff mash-up figure: knife + glue + toys/things is pretty easy math. The hard part is making a mould and slinging that resin!
SO ENKKI sat round in my room for a while. Make that YEARS.
Then in like 2012 i joined 'Galactic Jerkbags'.
ENKKI became my avatar for that site, people seemed to dig it.
THEN in 2013 i set up 'Art Whore' and got chatting with Peter Goral of 'Killer Bootlegs' fame about making runs of the little alien deity - thanks to an initial bump by Tyler from 'Ham FX'. Peter agreed but his damn fame led to him being busy and he had to bow out...
So... ENKKI was lying dormant. I couldn't think what to do... Then i thought of my old friend from the 'Jerkbags' forum - The good sir Derrick of 'DLL Customs'. Derrick agreed! Making me damn damn happy. This was 2014.
Fast forward to 2015...
I needed to finalise the release and needed some art and a designer for the header.
Well. Here some ole Convict Towner's stepped in - Giles aka 'Fat Ankle' on the art, and 'The Infamous Dogfight' on header design.
ENKKI has now finally been born in resin!
The very first 'Art Whore' release!
MORE INFO... like, a lot more info:
ENKKI Contributors:
ENKKI Releases 1st Release = 'Believer Edition'
(This is the one I received) * 10
* clear GID resin
* sent as presents to people who have helped make me the 'Art Whore' i am today!
ALL GONE-
2nd Release = 10 off - Black Resin - 'Black Edition'
* will be for general release
3rd Release = 10 off - Red Resin - 'Rryujinn Edition'
* will be for general release
4th Release = 10 off - ???? - 'DLL Customs'/'Duality' edition
* will be for general release
Price most likely US $ 25 + shipping.
2nd + 3rd + 4th editions dropping this year.
Derrick AKA DLL Customs is making a new mould for ENKKI - meaning the 1st release was made from a mould never to be used again - and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th drops will be happening later this year!
OTHER
- Planning on releasing a T-Shirt of the 'Fat Ankle' ENKKI art eventually as well.
- And will ENKKI take further forms down the line? A re-sculpt? A vinyl version? Who knows! ;)
