mari kasurinen: my little pop icons

‘my little lady gaga’, part of the ‘my little pop icon’ series by mari kasurinen all images © mari kasurinen

with ‘my little pop icons’, finnish artist mari kasurinen makes over ‘my little pony’ children’s toys into renditions of famous pop culture and fictional icons by painting their bodies, cutting and styling their hair, and dressing them in custom made clothes and accessories. the pieces are like sculptural caricatures of recognizable figures; and for anyone who has ever owned a ‘my little pony’, represent an interesting and unsettling confrontation between childhood playthings and the entertainment of the adult world.

kasurinen explains: ‘I was very interested in the whole customization phenomenon; how you can get anything done just for you. what does it tell about people’s self image today if even your credit card can’t look like your neighbour’s one? when we surround ourselves with things that are and look just the way we want them to, what does it mean?‘

see more ‘my little pop icons’ on kasurinen’s web and deviantart pages.

side view, ‘my little lady gaga’

rear view, ‘my little lady gaga’

‘my little lady gaga’ version 1 (2009)

‘my little jack sparrow’ (2008)

‘my little edward scissorhands’ (2011)

‘my little slave princess leia’ (2009)

‘my little frida kahlo’

‘my little mad hatter’ (2010)

rear view, ‘my little mad hatter’

detail view, ‘my little mad hatter’

‘my little spock’ (2009)

‘my little damien hirst’ (2011)

‘my little iron man’ (2011)

‘my little cthulhu’

‘my little alien’

‘my little marilyn monroe’ (2009)

‘my little chewbacca’

via junkculture