"Pop culture devoured and digested...
We all draw inspiration from our childhoods, but Tokka’s landscape is a nostalgia junkyard nightmare that defies category and forces us to examine why we love our memories. "- Ciro Nieli ;Showrunner for Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! , Teen Titans, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Alumni of Colorado Springs' original "Inkspinner - School of Cartooning and the Arts" - he was referred as the "REN & STIMPY" in a classroom of budding X-men, Spider-man and SPAWN artists. Perhaps due to his relation to the more monstrous and complex characters of his childhood in related media such as Harvey TwoFace, Wile E.Coyote, Quasimodo, or the behemoth alligator snapping-turtle creature that is his namesake.
Straight out of high-school into college without graduating the former, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia while in the 90s. A "fine-artist" in a design program, in spite of adversity he managed to graduate Pikes Peak Community College in 2005 with a dual Associate Degree in Visual Communications / Multimedia Graphic Design and Illustration with a minor in the History of Disney.
Due to the multifaceted expertise & ascetic of the work, compiled by the illness - focusing linearly on one single field in industry has been an excruciating challenge over the decades. 11 years ago, some vision & purpose came into focus by utilizing found objects, vintage and reclaimed, items UPCYCLED as his "canvas" such as used and broken skateboard decks. This has become a signature of his work as of late.
"The Turtles are the best thing to happen to me and the bane of my existence."
A reluctant underdog. While networking in the comic / animation arts and entertainment with not exclusively, but primarily the TMNT comic franchise as his vessel, has enabled Tokka have many human moments with behind the scenes creators, writers, actors and fans alike. Seeing this body of work ( the largest in his history in one place ) as one part memorial to those he's loved and lost. These are the modern-day, mythological characters he's appreciated and fostered all these years with loved ones living and gone.
Having a history of a high rejection rate for his work, he understands the universal human craving for acceptance. His oddball "reverse-licence" approach to the pieces presented, he hopes will be human, inclusive & welcoming to the hearts and minds of kids of all ages. Perhaps enabling one to relive the happiest, obscure moment of their childhood, adulthood, or parenthood with some of their favourite icons of their youth. Or maybe reconnect with a wacky sidekick or super-villain you forgot that deep-down you ever loved.
"Kowabunga, Dudes!"...indeed.