A beeswax candle hand-shaped in the form of Garumon — the beloved 1960s Japanese kaiju from the original Ultra Q series, a monster that became one of the most affectionately remembered creatures in Japanese tokusatsu history. The original Garumon was lumpy, knobby, and quietly unsettling in a way that read as more confused than menacing. Photerian's version captures all of it.
"The Grey Gatsby" is a singular piece — the standard Garumon silhouette, fully covered in its characteristic knobbed and craggy texture, finished in a sharp palette of pale grey, hot pink, and electric blue. The pink reads almost neon against the matte grey body, gathered into the spines and the feet. The blue surfaces around the eyes and along one leg, like a tattoo only partially revealed. The result is a Garumon at its most graphic — the kind of object that holds a room.
The candle is made entirely from 100% beeswax, hand-shaped in the Lower East Side by Keetja Allard, who has built Photerian into one of the most singular sculptural candle practices in New York. This piece is one of a kind. There is no other Grey Gatsby.
WHY IT'S SPECIAL
- A piece by Keetja Allard, the artist behind Photerian — handmade in her Lower East Side studio, where she has been sculpting beeswax candles into kaiju, owls, lions, poodles, and other increasingly devoted obsessions for years.
- Garumon as subject: a deep cut from Japanese pop culture — the original Ultra Q monster from 1966, beloved for being more peculiar than scary. Recognizable on sight to anyone who grew up with Showa-era tokusatsu, mysterious and wonderful to anyone who didn't.
- 100% beeswax: hand-poured and hand-shaped, with the natural honeyed scent of pure beeswax that comes through faintly when burned. No synthetic fragrance, no dyes hidden in the wax.
- One-of-a-kind colorway: pale grey body, hot pink spines, electric blue accents — this exact combination exists on this piece alone.
- A piece that can be burned or kept as sculpture — most collectors choose the latter.
DETAILS
- Material: 100% beeswax
- Approx. 6" tall
- Hand-shaped, hand-painted; this exact piece is one of a kind
- Unscented (natural honey notes from the beeswax itself)
- Made in New York City by Photerian / Keetja Allard
- Fragile — handle with care
THE BRAND
Photerian is the candle practice of Keetja Allard, working from a studio in the Lower East Side of New York. The work began with a candlemaker's eye and a collector's obsession — Allard collects odd vintage candles alongside making her own — and has grown into a body of sculptural beeswax pieces shaped around recurring characters: kaiju, owls, lions, poodles. Each piece is hand-shaped, hand-finished, and one-of-a-kind. Photerian has been one of Takamichi Beauty Room's most beloved artists for years.
