A Brief History of Lemi The Space Wanderer
Where it began and how it will continue the journey.
The year was 2007, a couple of years after I received my bachelor's degree. I was working at an independent clothing company in Bandung. One afternoon in July, the summer breeze came through the window of the office where I was working. The warm afternoon sun, often called the golden hour, created a silhouette of the window frame and made the wall across my cubicle look like a still from a neo-noir movie. I was listening to a playlist of my newly discovered indie pop bands, Camera Obscura and Belle & Sebastian. These beautiful indie pop songs often sing about trips, sunshine, and beautiful things, which made me think:
What am I doing inside this small cubicle? I should go outside during this beautiful afternoon. The fresh air and adventure outside are waiting for me.
I made up my mind that I should be outside the next day, exploring outside the city where there are more green spaces. I called my best friend at the time, Marika, and asked her whether she wanted to go too. We agreed to meet up the next day to find a cactus farm in a village outside the city.
After the call, I waited for the office hours to finish. I stared at the PC monitor and talked to myself:
I want to explore the world.
I then drew a creature inspired by a monitor and gave him a couple of rabbit ears and a lightning symbol on his forehead. I named the character Lemi the Space Wanderer. The name Lemi was inspired by Lemmy Kilmister, the vocalist of the band Motörhead. The Space Wanderer part was because I think space has no limitations and offers never-ending inspiration.
I manifested my wish to explore more of the world through this character. I uploaded the drawing to my DeviantArt on July 27, 2007. I consider this the birth of Lemi the Space Wanderer, the character that inspired me to wander more places in the future, just as I had imagined.
While I was still using a random name without meaning for my DeviantArt account, I needed a new alias for an art project. I opened my sketchbook and found one of my drawings of pandas with a lightning logo on their chests. I thought it could be a catchy name, so I used the alias Thunderpanda for a period of time. The lightning symbol was meant to symbolize energy.
I hoped that these creations would become fuel to realize most of my dreams.
The next day, I called in sick to the office and went on a trip with Marika to find the cactus farm while listening to the Camera Obscura’s playlist.
I started to develop the character Lemi the Space Wanderer and redrew him several times, which led to the final design that I still use today. This design was translated into several creations and achieved massive success as a papertoy platform.
I joined a papertoys forum, gained some exposure, and this led to collaborations with artists from around the world. Lemi was even featured in several publications about papertoys, which made me very proud. Although I haven't been able to travel outside the country, Lemi the Space Wanderer has already been to many places.
The papertoys also received a good response from fellow Indonesian artists. We held a small exhibition at Omuniuum in Bandung, featuring custom designs from several Indonesian artists. We spent hours assembling the papertoys, and I was thankful for their support, which still gives me the energy and belief to keep pursuing my passion.
It became a long journey afterward. I met several nice people who helped me through this uneasy but fun path. I met a college friend and his wife who introduced me to the Singapore Toys, Game and Comic Con (STGCC), which coincided with the Nine Inch Nails tour to Singapore in 2009. It was my first time using my passport. And it became a life milestone for me.
The event was mind-blowing. I made a lot of new friends and was determined to join the next event. In 2010, I found a designer toys store and community called Plastic Culture, which would eventually support me for years to come. Win Satrya and Joshua Artono became my sponsors for STGCC 2010. We showcased some prototypes of new characters for the show: Perry The Sea Wanderer, Merapi Kid, and Tree Human. Only Perry was eventually produced.
Still in 2010, we also held a solo exhibition at their store in Grand Indonesia. We exhibited around a dozen new drawings printed on large canvases, and we sold all of them. Big kudos to the Plastic Culture team's excellent marketing skills.
The support continued for the Taipei Toys Festival (TTF) in 2011. We sold out our 5-inch resin figures of Lemi the Space Wanderer and the first batch of Perry the Sea Wanderer resin figures.
During TTF 2012, we met Leo, who works for a toy company that produces designer toys. The company invited me to be an artist for their upcoming blind box series. I was thrilled when the 3-inch vinyl figures arrived in late 2012. Leo is now known for his excellent work with Unbox Industries, which consistently produces awesome designer figures.
After a while, I felt out of touch with the Thunderpanda alias. Eventually, I lost access to the domain name. So, after some thought, I decided to use The Space Wanderer as my new alias, which I continue to use to this day.
In 2024, marking ten years of The Space Wanderer and 17 years of Lemi the Space Wanderer, I decided to let go of the lightning trademark from Lemi's and Perry's foreheads. I want them to become free wanderers and lead us to more adventures with more friends. I am currently developing a few more characters to join The Space Wanderer family, and hopefully can consistently produce nice merchandise and toys.
You can meet them on social media: The Space Wanderer
Please wish us luck and bless us to bring joy to everyone.
