Artist Ben Wilson is adding a shade of colour to the pavements of London by painting miniature pictures onto discarded chewing gum-including his Ma-gum opus, a tribute to the Tenth Doctor for his children.
BBC News recently followed the sticky stylist around London for a day where he has created over 8,000 paintings-often spending anything up from two hours to three days to complete them before photographing and cataloguing each one for his archive (Stick the video to the 1:33 mark for a glimpse of the Juicy Fruit Time Lord.)
Ben has also taken commissions including one from The Royal Society of Chemistry who recently asked him to paint depictions of each of the 118 known elements.
Ben is able to give the law the slip as the damage has been done by the inconsiderate soul who spat it out in the first place. He hopes that his spearmint showcases will help draw attention to the gum on the streets- making people more aware of their surroundings.
His work turning on the spot fines into fine art has seen him become a minor celebrity in South Korea after appearing on television there.
(Via BBC News)
Related articles
- Video: The Chewing Gum Man, transforming disgust to delight (guardian.co.uk)
- Ben Wilson creates art from chewing gum (lostateminor.com)
