Checked out 181 Martel for Dr Romanelli's "What's Up DrRX" show, where he has re-interpretted Bugs Bunny as a mad doctor, and includes the release of a pretty cool Bugs Bunny vinyl toy. The presentation was flawless, with 181 Martel decked out on the ground floor as a lab set up and lots of vinyl Bugs's on display in glass medical cabinets. The clothing line which this all promoted was nice, but prices were astronomical ($160 plus for a tee, $770 for a decorated army jacket). The vinyl figure, sculpted by Monster5 (he's Japanese right?) is pretty sweet and comes with a nice pair of metal Romanelli shears that fit into Bug's hands. Reputedly an edition of 200, and produced by Span of Sunset. The $75 price tag was pretty good for this 10" tall figure, and it seemed like a veritable bargain compared to the clothing! According to what I read, this figure also debuts at Beams Gallery in Shibuya, so maybe Hiddy will make it out for the night.
Romanelli seemd like a nice guy. Saw Neckface in the crowd heading toward the free bar replete with Bugs Ice sculpture dripping Vodka (yum) and also told Buffmonster to check out Skullbrain.
Overall, worth a look, especially if u havent checked out 181 Martel before - the space is impressive, a concrete, wood and glass re-imagination of the internals of what was a house - super well executed.
Further info here:
http://www.whatsupdrx.com/ and here http://www.181martel.com