Take a Look Inside the 'BE@RBRICK WORLD WIDE TOUR 3' Exhibition

As visitors around the world made their way to Hong Kong for a jam-packed week of events led by Art Basel, BE@RBRICK World Wide Tour 3 officially touched down in the city with opening celebrations graced by Medicom Toy CEO and founder Tatsuhiko Akashi.

Jointly organized by Forward Fashion and Medicom Toy, the show takes place at Artelli, a 10,000 square ft. exhibition space in the bustling Central district. There, exclusive BE@RBRICK 1000% figures designed by 100 internationally renowned creators are displayed under a fragrant canopy of flowers. The greenery extends to the surrounding walls and shelving, wrapping around surrounding installations which include a white bear-sized BE@RBRICK sculpture and special oversized figures exclusive to Hong Kong and Macau.

While working at a simple desk job in computer manufacturing, Akashi stumbled upon an American Toys shop in Japan named ” ZAAP!” on one of his days off. As the story goes, Akashi was captivated by the action figures from blockbuster films such as Terminator and Batman. Several years later, he took the leap and set up his own toy shop, Medicom Toy, in 1996. While highly coveted today, the first BE@RBRICKs were offered as a giveaway at the 2001 World Character Convention in Tokyo. Conceived by combining the look of a LEGO-inspired Kubrick and a teddy bear, the toys would grow to become one of the most recognizable icons in pop culture, serving as a limitless canvas for countless creators around the world.

With each 1000% BE@RBRICK carefully hand-selected from the thousands in existence, some of the highlights we found were the collaborations with Munetaka Aoki using real tofu, with Jun Takahashi‘s UNDERCOVER featuring a full bridal dress, with Pokémon for a metallic gold Pikachu, and with midland Creation (Masato Naka) presented in enameled porcelain.

Following a tour of the exhibition, Hypebeast sat down with Tatsuhiko Akashi for an exclusive interview. Follow us below as we explore Akashi’s future plans for Medicom Toy, the company’s approach to collaboration, and more.

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What interested you in starting a toy company?

It’s been 27 years since I founded the company. It was never about making money or making a profit. It all started with a wish to create something.

What do you attribute to the longevity and success of BE@RBRICK?

It may be because we never relied on traditional marketing. We simply worked with the creators we respected and genuinely wanted to work with.

In your opinion what are the most significant BE@RBRICKs and which ones have been your personal favorite?

We have collaborated with so many people and made so many BE@RBRICKs, but I have never really thought about which one is the best or most important just as though you wouldn’t compare your first-born child to your second-born child.

What do you believe makes something collectible?

I’m a collector myself so I do really appreciate firsthand how and why people collect things. I’m thankful to BE@RBRICK collectors, and my personal feeling is I want them to feel as though the BE@RBRICKs are within arm’s length. Something not too close yet not too far, and something that stays with them — sometimes leaving and coming back, but always maintaining a long-term connection.

What is your plan for Medicom Toy and also for BE@RBRICK?

We get all these calls from around the world to collaborate and we’re always thinking about ‘who do we work with?’ and how to best execute the projects. We’re always thinking hard about what we want to do in the future. One of our plans, for now, is to do something with NFTs.

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Is there a specific collaboration you haven’t done that you would like to do?

I’m not sure (laughs). There must be someone out there but I feel like if there is anyone on the same wavelength or with shared feelings I feel we have worked with most of them already. If we haven’t come across them yet, maybe it’s not meant to be.

What do you wish visitors will take away from this World Tour 3?

For anyone who hasn’t seen our show or BE@RBRICKs, I wish they could see it as contemporary art. There are lots of crossovers, but this is not a gimmick. It’s about the creative desire of the market. The market demanded it which is why we’re here. For visitors seeing our exhibition for the first time, we would like them to believe that this is something that they can create themselves, something new. I myself have learned a lot from the many creators we’ve worked with in the past so I hope that this can inspire a new generation.

Over the years, BE@RBRICK has evolved from being a mere giveaway to an icon of unprecedented proportions. What does the project mean to you and would you say it has become part of your identity?

Medicom Toy, my company itself, is all about constant growth. Always experimenting with something different. The manufacturers, factories, and creators we worked with all helped us to grow and get to this point. This is not about me or one particular person. Together is how we create miracles.

BEARBRICK World Wide Tour 3 will be showing in Hong Kong until May 10. Tickets are available here. Seven limited-edition collectibles will be available for purchase during the exhibition.

Artelli
Shop 18, G/F & LG/F New World Tower
16-18 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong