Artist Shigeki Hayashi has found a unique and unsettling way of blending old and new methods for his surreal, futuristic creations: he combines ancient techniques, traditional Japanese folk tales and modern sci-fi/manga imagery to create legions of robotic dolls... most of which feature infant faces with oddly blank stares.
Photo: Shigeki Hayashi
In a feature on Hayashi's work in art & design magazine Hi-Fructose, it's revealed that the artist draws inspiration from the traditional fantasy tale Taketori-Monogatari, a proto-scifi story of a baby who came to Earth from the Moon.
Photo: Shigeki Hayashi
The ceramic technique used to create the figures is also an ancient Japanese art form dating back to the 13th century, which adds a strange elegance to the creepy baby-bots and baby-bikes.
Photo: Shigeki Hayashi
You can see more of Hayashi's bizarre creations at Hi-Fructose, and other equally unusual series at the artist's official site (which is a little tough to navigate, but worth a look). You can see more creepy dolls incorporated into the found-object creations of artist Freya Jobbins.