Joel

Joel’s creations blend imagination, storytelling, and social commentary. Building each figure around a Lego skeleton, he layers clay, found objects, fabric, and sometimes LED lights to bring his cyborgs, monsters, and heroes to life. Some characters bristle with menace, while others radiate protective strength - names like “Recyclatron” and “Firebug” hint at dystopian tech, superhero lore, or 80’s / 90’s tv shows: “They are nostalgic for me, it's my memories of my childhood.” But the stories he tells are deeply personal, touching on themes like injustice, power, and identity as a Black artist. Each sculpture originates in Microsoft Paint, where Joel has developed a vast, interconnected world of characters, rich with personality and detail.

Joel takes great pride in sharing his process and showing people his world - and in selling his work to fund new materials and keep creating.

Original art:

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