Sculpture: Andy Rementer is back and OH MY GOSH his work has gone 3D

At this year’s Here conference I introduced Andy Rementer to the stage saying that “we feature him so often on the site he probably thinks we have a bit of a crush on him, which we basically do.” I’m not saying I regret saying that necessarily but I have replayed it in my mind a few times wondering just how appropriate it was. Nonetheless Andy got in touch a few weeks ago telling us about his new project which sees his bright and colourful cavalcade of characters go all 3D.

Following in the footsteps of other It’s Nice That favourites Steven Harrington and Parra working with Case Studyo, Andy’s work is tailor-made for this kind of collaboration and suffice to say we want them – ALL OF THEM – on our shelves and in our lives. We caught up with Andy to find out a bit more about his exciting new direction for his work…

How did this come about?

I’ve been a big fan of Case Studyo/Toykyo for a long time and have greatly admired the collaborations made with many artists I look up to. I’ve been in touch with Case Studyo for the past two years, and that’s about when the People Blocks project began to develop.

Are these new characters or existing ones from your work made 3D?

François, the duck, is a reoccurring character of mine and a joy to see him take on a third dimension. The rest of the cast are new and were designed out of the material and process. They all share qualities of my work including bright colours, bold patterns and unexpected interactions.

What were the main challenges involved taking your work 3D?

As an illustrator and graphic artist I’m used to working flat, so it was challenging for me to begin to think about adding a third dimension. We tried to echo the medium by including many cuts in the shapes of the characters. This was tricky to achieve, but I’m very pleased with the results. And of course because the edition is made entirely by hand, sometimes the shapes of my drawings needed to be simplified for the process.

Is this an area you’d like to explore further?

Of course, in fact keep your eyes peeled for just how this project may grow in the near future!