‘Kaiju Byron Native,’ and New Byron, Rangeron, and Seedlas Variants Revealed at Shoko Nakazawa’s ‘Cute Aggression’ Solo Exhibition

Kaiju are born of disaster. The famous Godzilla is an ancient sea monster mutated and reawakened by nuclear radiation; similarly, Kaiju Byron Native, Shoko Nakazawa‘s newest sculpt, is also born from environmental disaster. This piece and more were on exhibit at last week’s Cute Aggression show, Nakazawa’s first solo exhibition to be held at The Little Hut Co.‘s Taipei gallery.

Shoko Nakazawa’s newest character, Kaiju Byron Native

So how does environmentalism relate to veteran toy designer Shoko Nakazawa? In her Instagram announcement, she describes her inspiration:

バイロンの故郷、山椒魚の住む清流を守りたいという願いを込めて川の小枝と小石を使って原型制作しました。

I made a prototype using river twigs and pebbles with the desire to protect the clear stream where the salamanders, the hometown of Byron, live.

Source

Currently, there are 50 autographed pieces in existence, with all of them being sold through Cute Aggression. But Nakazawa alludes on Instagram that more may be available later by mail order.

Native is made of polystone and is 29cm tall, making them a little under a foot in height. Each cost 20000 NTD, which is roughly 800 USD.

Byron, Rangeron, and Seedlas Brother Autumn Leaves variants

Alongside Native, the Cute Aggression exhibit saw new Byron and Rangeron Autumn Leaves sofubi variants. Prepared with help from the artist T9G, these variants share the transitional colors of autumn, giving us a warming gradient of green to red, while also exploring the soft shades of orange and yellow. 

Not to be left out of the family, Autumn Leaves Seedlas Brother also made it to the show, and was released alongside his larger companions as well. There’s a delightful contrast between the tepidly smiling, open mouth and the sharp monster teeth just below the cute glass eyes.

And if that weren’t enough, all of Nakazawa’s Autumn Leaves sofubi are made of glow in the dark (“GID”) vinyl to help them see in the dark. What an awesome surprise!

At time of writing, these figures have all been sold out. But kaiju hunters have no fear, as Nakazawa’s sofubi typically see mass release on a rolling basis.

Cute Aggression will be on display at The Little Hut gallery in Taipei, Taiwan, until December 20. If you are in the area, be sure to stop by and see the other one-off variants and canvas paintings being shown at the solo exhibition.

Cute Aggression can be found here:
Hour : 14:00~20:00
Address : [The Little Hut] No. 3, Lane 62, Yanji St., Taipei City / 台北市延吉街62巷3號

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j.lerouge

Jacques here and I, for one, can't wait for the solarpunk mecha future 🤖 I love comics, Pokémon, and collectibles!