Kat Vandal

About

Mixed-media artist who turns childhood nostalgia into Happy Fine Art as a rebellion against gloom and growing up.

Statement

Using pre-loved toys, balloons, teddies and ball-pit balls, I merge the art of upcycling with playfulness and emotional resonance in a visual language rooted in Neo-Pop culture. Pop Art, street art and Op art form the bones of my visual language, where playful chaos and spontaneity meet structure and sophistication. Through bold colours, texture and repetition, my work celebrates the intersection of play, design and memory. Beneath their playful surfaces lies a deeper exploration of how childhood objects can reconnect us with our inner child and create a real dopamine boost: My pieces are designed to evoke a smile, a feeling of recognition and a moment of connection. My why: I’m a deeply nostalgic person, obsessed with the wonder, play and silliness of early childhood. Motherhood gave me a second doorway into that world, but I already feel the ache of that doorway closing and the fear to be trapped in an adult world where no one wants to play. My practice is a way for me to keep playing and stay a child forever. … I create art with toys because they are physical symbols of childhood's smallest joys: not the headline memories, but the micro-moments that time tends to blur like cracking open a kinder egg, opening a birthday party bag, getting a souvenir from a day out. … Unlike an image, I believe a toy doesn’t just remind us of a memory; it brings back the feeling: The body recognises it before the mind does. That is why tactile elements sit at the heart of my work.

Exhibitions

Recognition

Commissions

3 types of commissions, all within my aesthetics: - Small toys for bespoke smileys - A Teddy and childhood memories in writing - A full on childhood legacy with all of primary childhood favourites

Starting from $997