Toys are where it’s at right now. They’re this unique little intersection of art and popular culture, as we’ve seen everywhere from kidrobot’s local collaborations to the very recent Ron English and Chris Brown toy pairing. They have a super hardcore following, attracting the type of crowd that will line up around a block just for the chance to simply glimpse some fancy toys. This past weekend at Toy Art Gallery on Melrose, the latest riot worthy toy/art collision was released: the My Little Pony Project.

The show comes from We Love Fine, Mighty Fine, and Sweet Streets not to mention Hasbro, the people behind the brand. It sees a handful of artists and pop cultural icons and Kawaii stars taking to oversized Little Ponys, reinterpreting them in new ways. The majority of them were super amazing, like Mark Mothersbaugh’s mirrored Pony, the super high gloss Onch Movement piece, the S&M branded Pony, the handful of hyper-patterend Ponys, and the ones that even went a bit meta with words like “BRONY” splattered on their hind legs.

The show has already picked up tons of buzz from the Kawaii world to the Brony world and is the debut of a show that is going to travel to New York and Japan later this year. We stopped in on Friday for a preview as we couldn’t make it to the actual opening on Saturday. That being said, the space was already starting to fill up with Pony lovers–and word wasn’t even out that the show was up! It also features a giant collection of vintage Pony toys, which showcases just how weirdo these toys are and the source of this crazy/funny culture that was born as a result of it. There are also tons of clothing, toys, lifestyle products, and prints at the show as well, all really making it clear that there is in fact a culture surrounding these items–one that we were only very vaguely aware of.

The show is open through May 26 before it ships off to it’s next destination. It’s pretty neat and is definitely is already something people are talking about since the buzz around it was building up for weeks leading up to it. They’re going to be having lots of local events in conjunction with the show, ranging from screenings at the Silent Movie Theatre to meet and greets with persons on the current show on Hub and even a Family Day (where we are sure no Bronys will be allowed). You know you want to check it out, Brony.