The trend for creepy-cute
From cuddly cushions shaped like giant insects to paintings of doe-eyed dolls sobbing in the forest, things that are at the intersection of cute and creepy are fascinating people around the world.
Called ‘‘kimo-kawaii’’ in Japan, where the style was first recognised, it is typified by popular characters such as the Kobitodukan, a collection of dwarf-like creatures with strange human faces, and Gloomy Bear, who is pink and cute like Hello Kitty but has a murderous streak.
Locally, Tanja Jade McMillan (previously Thompson, and also known as Misery) has long been a champion of this look. Her art is instantly recognisable, thanks to its doleful or subversive childlike characters, who populate strange, fantastical worlds.
‘‘I think the juxtaposition of cute and creepy is adorable, loveable and humorous,’’ said McMillan. ‘‘We all have a little bit of sweet and twisted darkness within us. My 2-year-old daughter is all about being a cute creep, she is a ghost or monster every day.’’
McMillan said she has always found an element of humour, innocence and beauty in things that are dark and macabre.
‘‘My love for Japanese art growing up inspired me a lot, manga and old cartoons that combined cuteness and violence.
‘‘As a shy and anxious teenager in the late 90s, being around goth, punk and graffiti culture, painting this kind of style felt a very natural way to express my teenage angst and awkwardness.’’
She said her work has ‘‘matured’’, but still features characters in fantastical madeup lands that have an element of darkness.
‘‘I’m really loving exploring characters made up from nature – creepy floral tree people, rituals and being a woman in this world. Motherhood all tied together with costumes and a theatrical, pantomime vibe.’’
Along with original art works, creepy-cute characters often appear on dinnerware, vases, as figurines, and as textile prints.
Online craft market Etsy is the best place to hunt out the kimo-kawaii look – a search might reveal a crochet child’s toy shaped like an anatomical human heart or a knitted draft stopper in the form of a parasitic worm.
And if an inanimate object isn’t quite creepy or cute enough, many pets are also considered kimo-kawaii. Squashed-faced pugs and hairless cats fit the bill, but Chinese crested dogs are the strangest of the lot. Even with their mottled skin, pointed faces, wonky teeth and random tufts of hair, their owners think they’re adorable.
‘‘Some people can hardly look at him, but some do come up and say that he’s gorgeous,’’ said Dave Bridgman, proud owner of a Chinese crested called Bonsai.
‘‘We think he’s a beautiful dog, he’s got an unusual personality but he doesn’t demand much. He just sticks to you like velcro.’’
Bridgman and wife Zoe adopted him as a rescue dog after nobody else wanted him.
‘‘He was a mess, he was covered in melanoma, blind, deaf and petrified of stairs,’’ he said. ‘‘When we got him home we just thought ‘what the hell?’ But we’ve grown to adore him.’’
And that’s the thing about kimo-kawaii. Spend enough time around it and it tends to grow on you.