Chew on This

Chew on This is a miniature room I created from gum boxes, gum wrappers, and gum itself. The idea came to me one day while studying and chewing gum. I was surprised that gum was actually really nice to work with; it could be sculpted, and its stickiness could be like a glue to hold the room together. At the center of this tiny world is the “person”, an unchewed stick of gum sleeping in a bed made from a folded gum box. This person, untouched and fresh, is in contrast to the rest of the room, where everything else has been reshaped. This gum-person symbolizes openness and potential.

Surrounding this figure is a room with tons of detail. I sculpted objects like the teddy bear sleeping next to the gum-person, the cat hiding under the bed, and the dirt in the plant pot using softened gum. I mixed gum with water to soften it. The entire floor is made from gum. Gum wrappers were folded into a blanket, cut into tiny clothes in the closet, and made into a rug by the bed, and items like the laptop screen, the phone, and the trash can. To make the room more interesting, I added some accessories: a guitar hanging on the wall, a clock above it, posters and artwork decorating the walls, a fishbowl on the shelves, the charging cord for the phone and potted plants.

The fresh gum-person is a symbol of possibilities in a place where everything else has been transformed. The project became a reflection on potential, a reminder that art can be made from ordinary materials if we look at them in a new way and if we allow random thoughts to entertain us.