Dictators, tyrants, despots—whatever you want to call them—don’t exactly have the best public opinion and rightfully so. Their human rights atrocities aside, they also have appalling taste; yet oddly enough, some of them have crossed into mainstream and have become almost fashion icons. Take Givenchy’s women’s Pre-Fall 2012 collection, for example and how a little bit of Communist Chinese chic can make the pefect Maoutfit. Yes, I cringed too.

Now come’s Melbourne’s own Stephen Ives, the artist whose toy-inspired sculptures depict world dictators, tyrants and despots as the popular toy, Mr Potato Head. By using the body parts and placing them in different configurations on the skull-shaped body, you can achieve the Hussein, Stalin or Thatcher looks in a matter of seconds. Probably not one for the kids.

I do believe there’s more for you to read: