Ceramic Sofubi Sculptures
Displayed as a group but sold individually, these pieces are directly inspired by vintage sofubi toys, but made to look like votive figures.
These pieces are a part of the Pride in Craft 2026 display at Craft Ontario's Queen Street West location. Works will be shipped after the feature is completed at the end of June. Please reach out to shop@craftontario.com if you require earlier shipping or pick-up.
Ceramic & glaze
Biollante votive - Plant monster votive - W 4" x H 7.5"
Ghidorah votive cup - Three-headed votice w/ cup - W 7" x H 8.75"
Mothra larva votive - Larve votive - L 5" x W 2.25" x H 3.25"
Mothra (adult) votive - butterfly votive - L 4" x W 7.5" x H 4.5"
Gage Michael Wheatley is a queer artist based in Tiohtià:ke / Montreal. Working primarily in ceramics, Gage draws inspiration from cartoons, toys, and a deep connection to the natural world, where he approaches nostalgia as a mode of reflection and relationship rather than a fixed past. By recreating and reworking familiar forms, he examines how queer identity is shaped through play and how meaning accumulates over time.
Statement: My practice is rooted in making as a mode of thought. I use ceramics as a form of parallel inquiry into identity, attachment, and care. I am interested in how childhood objects and concepts serve as primary materials through which we understand ourselves. For queer children, these objects often offer a sense of recognition or comfort even before a formal language of identity exists.
By recreating these familiar forms in clay, I reclaim them as sites of devotion. My work establishes a link between the contemporary nostalgia for play and the age-old tradition of the vessel. I treat the ceramic form as a container, both literal and metaphorical, for memory, thus elevating everyday symbols to the status of objects of reverence. Drawing on my background in archaeology, I am attentive to how meaning accumulates over time through the suggestion of use and the presence of fragility. Through scale and surface, I explore how personal stories can be carried and passed on. Ultimately, my work seeks to transform the ephemeral past into physical anchors for a queer present.