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While most people spend years compiling the ultimate stamp, coin or vinyl collection, Basel Al Aradi, used his passion for horror movies and pop culture to gather limited edition monsters and other rare statues that will make him the envy of any cinephile across the island.
The 35-year-old vice president of a medical consulting institute had no idea that his figurine obsession as a child would flourish into a fully-fledged collector’s dream come true.
It all started at the age of six when his mum Wedad Al Alawi bought him his favourite turtle in a half shell, Leonardo, from Dadabhai Group’s toy and stationary store for scoring well on his exams.
His Ninja Turtles obsession continued with his second purchase being one of the villains from the fictional knife-wielding and nunchucking comic book and cartoon.
He said: “My mum, eventually, made a deal with me. She told me to save my money and that she would then take me every weekend to purchase something for myself. She wanted to teach me the value of money. My mum would give my brother Hussain and me 300fils a day for snacks and stuff. I would then save that to buy my collectables which were then priced starting at BD2.5. That was expensive back in the 90s”
One day, Basel purchased a vintage toy of the Green Goblin from the Spiderman comic books for BD6. His mum made a huge fuss, telling him that he was being ripped off. However, over the years, Basel understood the value of pop culture and movie memorabilia, especially when well taken care of.
“My mum and dad, Ali Al Aradi who is a doctor and one of the founders of Ibn Al-Nafees Hospital, thought I was merely buying toys,” explained Basel. “What they didn’t realise was that I knew how to take care of my figurines …and that is all thanks to them for teaching me the value of money.
“When I told my parents that the BD6 Green Goblin is now valued at $450 (around BD170) on eBay, they began to sing a different tune. The reason being is that toy is quite rare. I also have a ThunderCats motorbike which I bought for $70 (around BD26) and it is now worth $1,500 (around BD564) on eBay. My dad was speechless when I told him about that one too and he hasn’t said anything about collecting to me since.”
In fact, now they welcome it and the proof is in his dazzling display and lofty bedroom which he spent a year, since November 2018, designing and building from the wooden chandeliers to the cool cabinets.
Basel’s collection, which has grown to 137 statues, busts and props, had pushed him out of his quarters leaving him to snooze on a mattress on the ground floor of his three-storey home. Something had to be done.
“I wanted to give my collection the showcase it deserves as well as share my joy for it with others,” explained Basel. “No one except my immediate family and some of my friends knew about my pop culture collectables and movie memorabilia obsession.”
Basel has always been a shy and quiet individual as he went through body shaming throughout his high school years for being overweight. He kept to himself and found refuge in TV shows and movies. He was 155kg. It took him four years but he accomplished his goal and now weighs 75kg. His remarkable change gave him that confidence to finally express himself through his collection, because to him, it’s art.
“It was time to put them out for all to see and I wanted to show people in Bahrain that there are others like me with such a drive and passion,” he said. “There are people that collect rare memorabilia, not just stamps and coins or the typical stuff.
“I also want to clarify, I am not a hoarder. There are people that buy items for the sake of saying they have them and just leave them to pile up. They think that the more stuff they have, the better they are. But that’s not what I do. Every character and statue means something special to me. I am also careful with my purchases. I pay attention to the details as well as the person who created the figure.”
His showcase now features limited editions that can only be found in certain parts of the world.
For example, he has a life-size figurine of Regan Teresa MacNeil, a fictional character from William Peter Blatty’s horror novel and film adaptation of The Exorcist. There are only six Regan’s found around the world, one being in Japan, two in the US, one in London and one owned by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro Gomez. Guillermo purchased his for $14,000 made of silicone while Basel bought his for $5,000 (around BD1,880) and is made out of resin. Twenty per cent of the money from the purchase of his Regan is going to the Linda Blair World Heart foundation.
He had contacted Mark Charlie, a concept designer in the US, to create her for him. The same designer created monsters for The Quiet Place and The Avengers. His Regan, who was autographed by American actress Linda Blair who played the possessed child, now sits eerily on a sofa in the corner of his loft in Arad, surrounded by other horrific dolls such as the Annabelle doll from The Conjuring Universe. His Annabelle, which cost $5,000, was a concept design made for the movie premiere and was signed by the actor.
Another prop from The Conjuring franchise set to grace his loft is a 5.6ft Valek. He is thinking of keeping the nun at the end of his hallway. Needless to say, his mum never ventures into his room.
Another giant figure near and dear to his heart is Joaquin Phoenix’s The Joker. He was moved by the movie and requested it to be created too.
He also has a bust of Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th, signed by creature concept designer Tom Savini and film creator Victor Miller.
Another cool prop is The Infinity Gauntlet weighing a whopping 26kg that he bought for $350 (around BD132).
He also has a giant, limited edition of Goro from Mortal Kombat for which someone from Saudi Arabia offered him BD4,000. However, Basel said no.
So what is next?
He said: “People are welcome to come by and take a look at my collection and maybe in the future I will have an exhibition. Until then, keep chasing your passion.”
To see more of his collection, follow @darko.bh on Instagram.
