What do you do when you're an artist who can't get manufacturers to produce your edgy work? Make crap and call it art, just like Sucklord does.
The scathing art prankster's portfolio is stuffed with sloppy rip-off toys from sci-fi legend, most notably the Star Wars universe, none of which are licensed and all of which are uglier than a light-sabered Wampa.
"I realized that what I was able to produce myself was crappy and inferior by comparison to all that nice shit being made in Chinese and Japanese factories," Sucklord – who prefers his invented persona to his original name – told Wired.com in an e-mail chat. "Instead of hiding and glossing over the suck factor, I decided to market it as a feature of the product."
Don't make the mistake of assuming Sucklord has designed any of the bootleg action figures in the gallery above as a commentary on juvenile toy consumption, or grown-ups still locked in their sci-fi diapers. He's as much of a Star Wars thumb-sucker as the rest.
"My tagline – 'You're an asshole for buying this' – isn't an insult to the consumer, but a commiseration," said Sucklord, whose first retrospective exhibition, Suckadelic, runs through Jan. 23 at New York's Boo-Hooray Gallery. "I am just as much an asshole for liking and pursuing the pop-crap of the world as my customers."
The New York-based Sucklord has been pranking pop-cult and art for a decade with his indie company Suckadelic. He mashed The Simpsons and Andres Serrano's notorious Piss Christ to create the hilarious Piss Bart, and worked on spirited Sith reboots for The Vader Project.
The sharp irony that Sucklord's profane remixes are auctioned at Christie's and hastily snatched up by so-called "fine art" collectors is not lost on him.
"Paintings that sell for millions are valued because some douchebag expert said they have value, not because they have inherent worth," he said. "It's a hustle: You convince people with money that you are something special and important when you really are not. However, ask me after I make millions off of my racket and I may have a different answer."
In the toys seen above, Sucklord lampoons Star Wars and other sci-fi stalwarts relentlessly. From pink "Gay Empire" stormtroopers and bounty hunters to Anushead, a snarky stab at A New Hope's Momaw "Hammerhead" Nadon, the artist is sucking at George Lucas' bottomless teat just like the rest of sci-fi fandom.
"I love Star Wars, and I'm not seeking any kind of showdown," Sucklord said. "As a cultural touchstone, Star Wars serves as a universal language, which can be utilized to say whatever you want."
Images courtesy Suckadelic. Follow us on Twitter: @morphizm and @theunderwire
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