Ben Wilson, the artist known as 'Chewing Gum Man', has spent 22 years creating miniature paintings on discarded wads of chewing gum flattened on pavements. His work has taken him from the Arctic Circle to South Africa, and he has faced legal challenges along the way.
Transforming discarded gum into art
Wilson's art transforms something spat out and discarded into something positive. He said: 'You're taking something which is spat out and discarded and then transforming it into something positive. In a consumerist society, chewing gum is something that can be created very fast, and it's very cheap – it's artificial in every sense.'
His unconventional art has landed him in trouble with the law more than once. He faced a court case claiming his paintings are on public property, which he won on a 'technicality' because the gum is on public property, rather than being public property. He also fought to save hundreds of his pieces on the Millennium Bridge, which were under threat of removal due to renovations.
Connecting with people through art
Wilson has created hundreds of dedications to people who pass by as he works, marking births, deaths, marriages, or honouring requests as simple as a painting of cheese and crackers. He said: 'It's nice to actually do a picture for a person in a truly giving way,' despite the financial challenges of creating free art.
'It's about acknowledging people; when people are alienated and disconnected, that's when you have problems. But also it's about freedom of expression, because often you find that everything's very controlled, so it's nice to do art in a more spontaneous way.'
One of his most challenging tasks was creating a painting for a doctor living outside Gaza City of an olive tree growing around ruins and the word 'steadfastness'.
London roots and open house
London, his home and the place where most of his art is based, is where he particularly loves to work. He says its residents display 'diversity of action, diversity of thought and diversity of people', something he thinks is desperately needed today.
Wilson opened his north London home and studio to the public last weekend, displaying his renowned chewing gum art, wooden sculptures, and his 'diary' made up of an 'intuitive' painting each day on tiny tiles. Selling art at the open house will give him the means to carry on making street art and making more connections with people, he told Metro.
Even after completing hundreds of requests, he has countless notebooks filled with more that he has not been able to get around to. According to his girlfriend Freya Cummings, an artist in her own right, these unfinished requests 'haunt him'.
