About

Big Barf Toy Co. is the studio of Dorson Plourde. Located in Portland, Maine, Big Barf creates limited edition, hand cast & hand painted resin art toys. These figures are based on characters surrounding Plourde's introspective "BIG" series. With influences drawing from bogus horoscopes, social issues, & stories of the bamboozled, these sculptures focus on simple form while holding darker truths.

"I like to consider these forms damsel's in dread.

In an attempt to define the present, these objects have become reflections of current crises ranging from the existential to the "quarter-life," the challenge being handling them with grace. Each toy stands as a pseudo self-portrait, a mascot for apathy, or an attempt to capture this current sense of floating. 

With this new work I'm seeking to explore the culture of objects serving as metaphors, whether it be societal or personal. More specifically, toys as art objects & how these 'things' originally intended for children's play can carry the weighty realities of adulthood. Ultimately I am interested in the implications of missed connections and the possession of screaming self-portraits masked as shiny objects." -dp