Ben Wilson: The Chewing Gum Man
Artist Book
Artist Book
If you're from the North London area, you're probably familiar with the local artist Ben Wilson aka 'The Chewing Gum Man'. If not, he is an artist who is most commonly known for painting on discarded chewing gum on the floor.
Here I have created an artist book project on him. There only seemed to be one option for this project, and that was to create a giant pack of chewing gum! I did them in the style of the strip chewing gums you get in packs. I screen printed on pieces of 'funky foam' as Amazon likes to describe it, to create the feel and look of chewing gum. Because Ben is a friendly guy and will talk to anyone who passes him while painting, I also wanted to make it interactive for the reader. So, on the wrapper of each strip provides maybe instruction on how to paint your own gum, where to find his works or what you need to paint gum. Then on the 'gum' itself is a bit about Ben!
(I have yet, to get photos to display the work I am happy with but for the time being...here's some I have!)
Here I have created an artist book project on him. There only seemed to be one option for this project, and that was to create a giant pack of chewing gum! I did them in the style of the strip chewing gums you get in packs. I screen printed on pieces of 'funky foam' as Amazon likes to describe it, to create the feel and look of chewing gum. Because Ben is a friendly guy and will talk to anyone who passes him while painting, I also wanted to make it interactive for the reader. So, on the wrapper of each strip provides maybe instruction on how to paint your own gum, where to find his works or what you need to paint gum. Then on the 'gum' itself is a bit about Ben!
(I have yet, to get photos to display the work I am happy with but for the time being...here's some I have!)
Screen printed pieces of craft foam.
On the wrapper is a map of Muswell Hill, the reader can cut out, to help them find Ben's little masterpieces.
Here I cut out the decorated chewing gum pieces, so the reader can take it out and keep it as if the chewing gum is an artifact of his work.
