While RISD teaches the many technical and conceptual realities of art making, I would like to delve into the business sector of the art world and how to create products suitable for consumerist markets.

This project explores the nuance of consumerism and the possibilities of creating art in a capitalist society. The mock brand “Kast Kids” provides a satirical allegory about exploitation in consumerism through many imperative stepping stones such as labor, race and artistry. The goal of this project is to explore the process of creating a brand and revealing the many avenues that go into creating products. Documentation of the drafting, execution, budget, marketing, and sales will be used to present a clear archive of the history of each product.

Kast Kids represents the commodification of Black bodies and Black culture in a capitalist society. Kast Kids "Caskets" embodies the death of blackness in America, a concept alluded to by the name's double entendre. Often individuals and corporations profit on monetizing cultural expressions of Black conventions. Exploitation can be seen in every nook of commercialism whether it be labor in prison systems, performative activism, ownership of Black artistry, modern day minstrelsy, etc.

Kast Kids exposes the dehumanization of Black bodies through its contrast in the seven figurines. Each character has a name, a story, and complex thoughts to complicate the myth of the monolith. Although each character is vastly different, they have all been subjected to the common experience of being objectified by the interchangeable concept of a toy.

While Kast Kids is a brand of collectible art toys, the HOOD BABIES dolls take a more domestic approach. These 28 in. mechanical toys serve as mental health dolls for black people. They are hand sculpted and controlled with cables. Many interdisciplinary practices are utilized to complete the toys such as casting, sewing, sculpting, working with metal, wood, clay, and plastics. I am taking references from the Child’s Play series and the iconic Chucky dolls with the similarities in size and mobility. 1980s VHS tapes and behind the scene videos are used to draw inspiration from an art team functioning in an assembly line like fashion. Aspects of marketing and social interests are also monitored to have a better understanding of consumers through a social lens.

The progression from collectible art toys to comfort dolls has provided insight on the limits of labor, time management, and skill sharing in entrepreneurship.