Yup, that’s right! “This is Not a Toy” is this awesome art exhibit happening right now at the Design Exchange near Union Station. (http://www.dx.org/).

As the marketing pamphlet describes it, “This Is Not A Toy was conceived as a presentation of the design and art toy as a unique medium for artistic expression. The title of the exhibit is inspired by the ubiquitous disclaimer found on product packaging…” Not to mention that Pharrell Williams was a guest curator for this exhibit.

Ok, so I was totally sold on the fact that Pharrell Williams was a part of this which is what really spurred my motivation to want to go and see it. I mean, not many people can pull off looking like a 25 year old when they are 40, and not to mention be multi-talented across so many artistic outlets (music production, fashion design and artistic design).
The exhibit evoked a great sense of color and playfulness. So many times, my instinctive nature was to just poke and prod and pick up everything. Their were a couple of security guards walking around ensuring that everything stayed in tact and that visitors behaved themselves. I never quite caught on to the Kidrobot phase nor the Animae trend, however I do appreciate the creativity and effort that designers have put into the pieces. Some of the pieces were certainly interesting like the very sexual doll with needles being jabbed into various parts of her body. Then there were some cool collaborative pieces like Pharrell Williams and Takashi Murakami and the Mediacom X Daft Punk. Take a moment and check out the photos below. Also make sure to check out the exhibit before it leaves Toronto on May 19.




