Giga Penguin is a strange hybrid: part toy, part Frankenstein plush, part sad-eyed creature trying to be loved. I started by combining a soft, round penguin body with an oversized handmade head, sculpted and painted to feel almost too human—like a mascot head that’s seen too much.

This piece comes from my ongoing interest in modifying and intervening with existing toys—disrupting their cuteness, recontextualizing their purpose, and turning them into sculptural objects that carry new meaning. It’s a ready-made at heart: something mass-produced, reimagined through the lens of absurdity, emotion, and discomfort.

The pink face, stitched seams, and exaggerated yellow beak give Giga Penguin an off-kilter presence. It’s not quite cute, not quite unsettling, but definitely something you can’t ignore. In some versions, it holds a cupcake like a child at a party that’s long over. That quiet melancholy is intentional—it’s what makes the Giga Penguin feel alive.

With this work, I want to blur the line between toy and art object, between the emotional comfort we assign to plush things and the unease that comes from seeing them changed. Giga Penguin is soft, silly, and full of tension—and that’s exactly where it comes to life.