Design

Ben Wilson’s Chewing Gum Paintings

Artist turns discarded gum into sidewalk art

Published

13 years ago

October 11, 2011

Robin Donovan Signs of the Times October 2011 Issue

Any pedestrian knows the familiar scourge of discarded gum spat carelessly onto sidewalks, pinned beneath orphaned chairs, and strewn anywhere a shoe may step. Distressed by litter-ridden streets and disconnected communities, Ben Wilson began to transform used chewing gum into art.

Painting gum stuck on sidewalks was his way of connecting; his tiny works often celebrate people and events in nearby communities. Near one post office, he drew a tiger to celebrate a Sri Lankan postal worker.

To create the paintings, Wilson heats gum with a blow torch, covers it with several layers of enamel, then paints it with acrylics, spending up to three days on each painting. He has created more than 10,000 paintings on sidewalks in the U.S., England (Wilson is a Cambridge native), Germany, Ireland, Finland and France.

More guerilla art: http://www.signweb.com/content/space-invader-signs-populate-paris

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