PROFILE

As a child raised in a place nicknamed “Toy Town” during the marketing excess of the 1980’s, it’s no surprise that a deep appreciation for toys was woven into Paul’s DNA at an early age.

Inspired by the cross-sell catalogs included with G.I. Joe vehicles and play sets (which depicted the toys photographed in diorama scenes), he started sneaking his mom’s polaroid camera outside to document his G.I. Joe figures in their own backyard battles when he was ten.

Fifteen years later he was earning his BFA in Communication Design and Photography at the University at Buffalo while also developing his own art and design aesthetic publishing blogs and digital zines.

After diving head-first back into toy collecting, it wasn’t long before he inevitably combined that hobby with his photography background to form Plastic Battles.

“We’ve all been there; long days at the office, bad news coming through the wire, traffic jams, bills, taxes…being an adult can be a real drag. But while some people turn to pastimes like sports, cooking, or gaming for a brief respite…Paul turns to his Joe collection, where he has complete control over the world they live in and the stories he wants to tell with them. Most people don’t quite understand, but there’s no place he’d rather be.”