Walrus Mania
Opening Friday, February 21, 2020 – 5pm – 9pm
On view through March 31, 2020
Toy de Jour – 2532 W Fullerton Ave Chicago, IL 60647

Chicago, IL Toy de Jour and Junk Fed present Walrus Mania, a group exhibition featuring 30 artists working in painting, sculpture, toy art, illustration, and photography. The curated works will pay tribute to the vintage Star Wars Walrus Man action figure.

Originally sculpted by Stephen Geddes for the now defunct Kenner toy company and released in 1979 as part of the second wave of Star Wars action figures, Walrus Man is one of the most vividly iconic action figures of its time. With a complementary contrast of orange and blue, flippered feet, and vaguely walrus-like head, the figure is a departure from the character depicted in the film, and remains a favorite among toy collectors.

The Walrus Mania exhibit was conceived by visual artist Todd S Rogers, under the moniker Junk Fed, out of a personal obsession with the aesthetics of the original action figure and the creative liberties taken in its design, separating it from the creature seen briefly in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The character that so many came to know as Walrus Man thanks to the Kenner action figure was later given the name Ponda Baba by the 1989 Star Wars roleplaying game sourcebook Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope. The Walrus Mania exhibit conjures a time when the Star Wars universe was young, undefined, and unlike anything that had come before it.

Contributing artists include BattleBabies, The Block Watch, CantinaDanny, Cassie Hart, chooseplastik, Dollar $lice Bootlegs, Galaxxor , Green Plastic Tunnels, Handmade Stuffs, Healeymade, Ironoclast, Jellykoe, Junk Fed, Killer Bootlegs, KrymsynGardImmoral, Lab Monkey Number 9, Mad Monster Lady, ManOrMonster?, Mortar Heads, Mr. Walters, Oscar Cisneros, Pez Banana, poopbird, Super Group Hugs, Terra, The Sucklord, The Tennessee Wolfman, Tiffany Flanagan, and Undead Speed Equipment.

Listings Info

Group Exhibit
Title:  Walrus Mania
Opening: Friday, February 21, 2020 – 5pm – 9pm
Address: Toy de Jour – 2532 W Fullerton Ave Chicago, IL 60647
|Hours: Monday – Friday 11 – 7, Saturday and Sunday 12 – 5

Junk Fed is the creative enterprise of visual artist Todd S Rogers, a nostalgist whose reverence for vintage pop culture, kitsch, wonder, and absurdity informs his artistic output. Working as a commercial artist and illustrator for over 20 years, Rogers has provided design for the music industry, working with the bands The Dead Milkmen, Fishbone, and They Might be Giants. As an illustrator, he has been responsible for technical product designs for the toy company Super7, independent toy designers Killer Bootlegs and Healeymade, as well as independently under the Junk Fed brand. For more information please visit: junkfed.com,  email: tintod@junkfed.com, or Instagram: @junkfed

About Toy de Jour  In March 2014, husband and wife team Sam and Liz opened a vintage collectibles and toy store overflowing with your childhood memories:Toy de Jour: Vintage, Toys, Arts & Farts. The shop has been featured in House Magazine, The Jam on WCIU, Logan Squarist, The Daily Beast, DNAinfo, and other crap. Sam and Liz are so grateful to have been covered in numerous other outlets and are pretty proud to have been named Winner of Chicago Magazine’s BEST NOSTALGIC TRIP AWARD. With items ranging from action figures to vintage jewelry to one-of-a-kind finds, and of course fart machines, there’s something for everyone. Instagram: @toydejour