Meet Alex Pardee, the mastermind behind the Candemons and so many other delightfully twisted art figures. With his new buddy Breaker making his vinyl figure debut at Kidrobot, Alex gave us some insight into making cool art, making scary candy, and surviving the process.
Kidrobot: How did the Candemons concept come to you?
Alex Pardee: Funny enough, the Candemons concept originally started as an idea for a series of enamel pins. The idea came to me at a friend’s birthday party where we were all taking turns hitting a piñata.
I had this random thought that it would be funny if the piñata was actually filled with enamel pins and that it would be a LITERAL “pin”-ata.
I kept laughing at that idea so I wanted to make it a reality for an event. But I didn’t just want the piñata to be filled with random pins, I wanted the pins to fit the narrative and feature characters that made sense to me.
So then I came up with this little story about how some classic candy got cursed and turned into demons (Candy Demons, or Candemons for short) and then hid inside a piñata waiting to be unleased upon unlucky children that think they are getting a prize!
KR: Are the Candemons friends? Or just hellish enemies competing for who can consume the most souls?
AP: They co-exist. But they are fiends moreso than friends. Selfishly hellish for the most part, but then they realize power in numbers so when they NEED to swarm, they swarm.
KR: Tell us a bit about Breaker. What’s his personality like? What are his hopes and dreams?
AP: You know the Mad Max movie Beyond Thunderdome? And specifically the character Master Blaster? Well, actually that’s TWO characters combined, Master and Blaster. Master is small in stature but really smart and Blaster’s a huge tough monstrous dude who’s uneducated and just likes to smash things. Breaker is BLASTER. His head is a literal JAWBREAKER, meant to break jaws! He’s gullible and easily influenced which is what makes him dangerous, but he’s also lovable. I think he has some simple goals and dreams. He wants to find love.
KR: Favorite pop culture demon?
AP: Easily PAZUZU, the demon featured in The Exorcist. Mainly because that demon is such a jerk, and basically was the equivalent of an internet troll, but like, in the 70s and he trolled priests. I think that’s funny.
KR: Willy Wonka — full-on sociopath or just misunderstood?
AP: Can we consider him a little bit of BOTH? I think the fact that he spent years building a candy factory and had equal opportunity employment makes him less than a FULL-ON sociopath.
KR: Now that you’ve tackled Halloween candy, do you have any plans for Easter? Demonic Peeps? Unholy jelly beans?
AP: I have been DYING to unleash demonic Peeps!! So YES!
KR: What other projects have you been cookin’ up? Give us the skinny.
AP: I’ve actually been doing a lot of design work for film and animation projects this year. Some my own, and some collaborations on other projects. Unfortunately, because of the current writers’ strike (which I support, BTW), a lot of those projects are delayed indefinitely at the moment. But hopefully will emerge someday! I’m also working on my next solo art gallery show which will tentatively be in New York in 2024 which is really exciting since I have yet to have a solo gallery show in New York!
KR: Any advice for aspiring artists and/or confectioners?
AP: Look at the world around you and make up stories about everything and make yourself laugh and then take those jokes and stories seriously and make them a reality and maybe someone else will laugh.
And also, be patient. That’s like the most important skill to have. The internet makes it seem like “overnight success” is the only way to succeed. But it’s not. The Tortoise and the Hare story is evergreen. Live that story!
KR: Finally, we gotta know—what’s your favorite candy?
AP: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups BY FAR. But a distant second would be Smarties. And I cannot explain why.
To safely capture your own Candemon, order the Metallic Breaker Candemon 7″ Art Figure by Alex Pardee, now available on Kidrobot. Limited edition of 200 figures, so order fast before this devious, delectable design dissolves and disappears despite…
we ran out of D words. Anyway, get yours now!
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