what's so scary about the scarygirl be@rbrick?

Nathan Jurevicius' Scarygirl Be@rbrick (left) has a very interesting pattern, but there's nothing scary about it. The term 'Scarygirl' was simply derived from the designer's signature comic strip of the same title.

Look closely – what seems like a school of fish is actually a flock of silver birds (note the beaks).

I am reminded of African cuckoos (below, right), migrant birds with a fascinating story. Do you know that they fly from Africa to England every summer, breed there and fly back home after? What's even more interesting is that they're called brood parasites. Why?

They don't build their own nests. Instead, they search for existing ones (often with eggs) built by host birds, and lay their own eggs on them while the host birds aren't looking.

Even more disturbing is the behavior of their offspring. Once a cuckoo egg hatches, the baby cuckoo pushes the host's eggs out of the nest! The poor, innocent host does not realize that the baby it is feeding isn't actually his own. What treachery!

Right after giving birth, cuckoo parents fly back home to Africa. The young are left to traverse continents on their own once they are strong enough to. I guess being abandoned and unguided at such a young age makes them extremely tough – and downright selfish. It's called survival.

Now, that's scary.

(The Scarygirl Be@rbrick was released at the 2006 Taipei Toy Festival. To see more of Jurevicius' wonderfully whimsical work, go here. Cuckoo Info: RSPB Wildlife Explorers)

a be@rbrick's flight of fancy

The Avian Flight Be@rbrick (right), released at the 2005 Taipei Toy Festival, features a whimsical pattern of birds with eyes like saucers. Designer Nathan Jurevicius, a graduate from University of South Australia, already had a background in editorial illustration before he collaborated with the Hong Kong-
based toy company, Flying Cat, in 2002.

Of all the toys he conceptualized, he is most famous for Scarygirl (left), the cute but slightly odd little girl (in a pirate's costume) who was abandoned late one night and was later found and brought up by a giant, intelligent octopus named Blister.

Scarygirl's mysterious past is the basis for the adventure that ensues. The two travel to a large and dangerous city in search for answers, guided by a mystic rabbit called Bunniguru.

I'd guess that Jurevicius had an overactive imagination as a kid. And even at 33, when asked in an interview how he displayed his toy collection, he answered, "I like to position them in odd ways - some holding other toys, some balancing on top of each other." A man child!

Truth is, I could probably say the same for all the thirtysomething toy collectors I know! :-)

(Scarygirl pic from www.scarygirl.com)