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Gallery Address: 11/F., Lok's Industrial Building, 204 Tsat Tsz Mui Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong |
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At the end of 2010 Michael celebrated a dual show at Times Square Hong Kong celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Gardeners and the mini-gardeners also known as the Kindergardeners. Collectors had reason to celebrate as Michael released the 12" version of Crazymichael and also a more rare black version of the figure. Collectors could also purchase limited edition merchandise during the shows including skateboard decks and bags covered in the art from the shows. |
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The diversity of items available at the shows was amazing. To help celebrate the season there was a red wine with a logo that was very familiar. The Christmas ornaments were a play on the popular Krylon srpay paint logo, which was seen on the rarest release of NY Fat figures which also debuted at the show. Collectors could pick up items such as keychains and tee shirts at the shows as well. |
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Quite possibly the rarest NY Fat figure ever released was the one that came with the bottles of cabernet sauvignon red wine. These were 9" figures in a jet and mat black finish. Only 99 were produced. The surprise release for the Kindergardener show were large wooden versions of the gardeners. These figures were over 10" in size and quite heavy. |
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| In addition to the wooden figures released there were snowglobes created featuring Crazymichael in one of three colors, Gold, Black and Color. |  |
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The lucky prizes were exceptional at the event. A couple of the large painted fiberglass statues, including Jordon pictured left were given away. Those that wanted a safe bet could purchase a lucky bag which would be filled with random figures, posters, shirts and other rare goodies for an exceptional price. |
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| A special seated version of Crazymichael with exposed "brains" was available at the gardener 10th show in Times Square. Along with the rare black version of Mini Crazymichael. | |
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Here is a collection of posters from previous gallery showings.
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The first exhibition in michael was titled BLACKBALL T90 and ran from December 10, 2004 until January 15, 2005. Nike was listed as one of the benefactors/sponsors of the event. The T90 was in reference to the Nike global futbol soccer campaign, featuring their very sweet geo-balanced T90 soccer ball.
Michael, as you may know, is an avid soccer fan and has been known to collect rare Nike soccer balls on his travels. This was a chance to demonstrate his love for the game. |
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All about the T90 Exhibition
The text below comes from the Nike and michael press release. The descriptions of the figures in the exhibition were translated by Juuan. Images courtesy of Micky and DP-MHI. "Inspired by the unique T90 black balls, Michael applies 9 different perspectives, by using 9 different characters and 9 techniques to create 9 pieces for this exhibition. While each piece carries a unique story as inspired by different personalities to the T90 Aerow football, every work of art reflects Michael’s relentless passion in football and his unique creative talent. What’s more, the limited edition Total 90 Aerow football will also be exhibited. Although it is not yet available in Hong Kong, Nike is going to launch a hardground version in Spring 05. |
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 45crazy + 45smiles Adding the digits up, that's full time 90 minutes. Can't be using other's creation on everything. Used a different scale on the figure's head and body. Pretty satisfied with the end product. |
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childhood chair
The first designer chair we own in the playground. Soccer player's havent got the chance to sit on this ball chair yet, but i sit on it all day. I chose to use wood due to its connection with furnishing. (The concept for the furniture and figure is flipped as the figure is made out of wood and the furniture out of plastic.) |
| hello nike
After a 90 min soccer match, one would love to have a cute bath. Soccer isn't a completely a male dominated sport, females play it too. Choosing Kitty to make the shower head bacuase the character represents females well. The circle thingy on it's chest also resembles a soccer ball. |
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lucky ball
The material and colour inspires thoughts of marshmallow candy. Marshmallow candy leads to the Lunar New Year. Lunar New year to toast the cup. It all adds (marshmallow) up. The design is a tee to toast the coming of the New Year. If anyone is interested in using the concept to make a tee, you are welcome to approach me. |
| mr ball & bigfoot
There was this program 'Mr Cartoon' from my youth days. I didnt know what it was all about then but I adored it when I came to understand what it's all about. Hence I mimicked the same Mr Something with an object. The sculpting took up quite a bit of my time. I think it is a coincidence but Nike has a machine called "Bigfoot" which they use to test soccer balls as well. |
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2090
No particular reason. First look, you get the impression that it looks like the space shuttle from '2001: A Space Odyssey'. |
| ms-t90 Zaku Nike
Inspired by the Mobile Suit Gundam: One Year War, animé series. The booster on Zaku is actually a shoe box. The weapon is the Nike Swoosh. Among the exhibits, this is most likely to go into mass production (as collectors hope). Which would be the first michael lau x nike x bandai. |
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play nike
Many play soccer the sport, even more play soccer the video game. But the real joy and essence of the sport cant be derived from a video game. Please use your leg to kick the ball. I really adore Playmobil toys. I tried collaborating with them via Maharishi, but playmobil insists on making toys for children. The chances are slim, hence I made this for my own pleasure. I chose this playmobil soccer field, because it shares the same hexagonal shape on a soccer ball. |
| ufo-t90
According to physics, no object is able to make an abrupt turn without stagnation. But a T90 can, bacause I have reason to believe T90 is also an UFO. I couldn't possibly find a UFO. Actually I was lazy on this. This alien is actually from Prodip's column in East Touch. The markings on the wooden UFO are made by the pointy headed alien to indicate the number of times it has landed on earth. |
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The History of SIXS and michael
At the end of 2003 Michael displayed his final Toy Con release, "last at Toy Con, See you at SIXS." This was done to promote the SIXS gallery before it became the michael gallery. It also made it clear that Michael would no longer premier any work at the HK Toy Con. The SIXS figures were released a few months later. They are similar to the CCHood figures, each SIXS person came with the Cat, Dog and Michael. The alternate head for the figures was a clear block designed to look like the SIXS shopping bag. Thanks to DP-MHI for the SIXS figures image. |
| The SIXS gallery was the premier location for Michael Lau releases. Prior to this Michael would only show and sell his work at toy shows or exhibitions. Fans and collectors in the Hong Kong area would have an exclusive place to go to for the latest creations from crazysmiles co.
As you can see from the pictures on this page Michael's graphic art as well as figure art was featured on the floors and walls. |
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In Spring 2004 Michael continued the SFCC theme with the release of T.O.M. and J.A.M.E.S. SFCC #23 and #24 respectably.
The delivery theme was taken up a notch as the "delivery van" for the new SFCC characters was a large box with holes cut out for the windows as well as te character's legs. From left to right: SFCC 21 G.E.O.R.G.E., SFCC 22 P.E.T.E.R., SFCC 24 J.A.M.E.S. and SFCC 23 T.O.M. |
| With the opening of the gallery and every subsequent figure release Michael has attended to many of the details. To the right you can see Michael arranging the SFCC characters on display bases.
The SIXS store was only open to Hong Kong residents. A person could apply for membership to the gallery which included a special Michael promotional item, updates and exclusives during showings. Plans of opening an online store for global customers was underway. However Michael has exclusive people he works with in Japan, the UK, the USA and Europe. Hence a "traditional" crazysmiles store might never open because of his distribution partners. Special thanks to Kenny for sending images of the SIXS gallery and Michael. |
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The final SIXS presentation, before the gallery was renamed michael, was titled 21cc ~ 30cc FINAL S.F. and ran from July 14 ~ August 14, 2004. Original art and all of the S.F.C.C. figures were presented at SIXS along with some unique work.
Michael created several S.F.C.C. vehicles, including the C.C.C. transport just for the exhibit. The original art and names for the series were presented on the gallery walls. |
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For those that enjoy learning the names of the figures and details, the nine S.F.C.C. figures and their associates (pictured below right) in order of release were:
G.E.O.R.G.E. P.E.T.E.R. T.O.M. J.A.M.E.S. S.T.E.P.H.E.N. R.I.C.H.A.R.D. D.A.V.I.D M.A.R.Y. W.H.O. S.F.C.C. Pets: S.F.C. and S.F.D. S.F.C.C. Assistant - S.F.R.B. S.F.C.C. Transport - C.C.C. S.F.C.C Enemies - Y.O.U.R.F.R.I.E.N.D.S. & S.S.D.D. Below, in the center of the floor, is a large version of the S.F.B.B. (Bearbrick) character created by Michael as part of the Bearbrick World Wide Tour. |
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 Click on Michael's back to go to the Tom Kids and Tokyo Tribe page. |
 Click on Michael to go to the Crossover Projects page. |
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There are rules regarding the images on these pages:
Fan-based web page and illustrations by Noe V. Created circa 2001, restored in March 2024, updated infrequently |