The following sculptures, which made out of chewing gum, are part of the Hollywoodoscopies collection, made by French artist Jeremy Laffon.
In my time, I’ve sculptures made from a wide variety of materials, but chewing gum has never been among them. This is really a pity, as chewing gum sticks have some unique properties that make them perfect as building materials. If you add their smell to the equation, you get something that certainly cannot be obtained with LEGO bricks or matches.
I do not know exactly how chewing gum sticks compare to other geeky construction pieces such as LEGO bricks, but I know that they are not that cheap, especially when using in such large quantities. More than that, I do not know what is the connection between these intricately designed buildings and Hollywood.
Jeremy Laffon’s sculptures are not all about creation. Destruction also plays an important role. More precisely, the structural integrity of the buildings is deliberately undermined, so that what starts as a beautiful cityscape ends up leaving a feeling of desolation.
Even though the chewing gum sticks are flexible by default, Jeremy Laffon is not always satisfied with their properties. In order to achieve the desired shape, the artist often heats the sticks up or bends them. Hollywoodoscopies includes not only helical towers that could cause anyone a vertigo, but also complex lattice structures. The chewing gum sticks do a great job as replacements for floor tiles. Also, the sticks are surprisingly sturdy when grouped in a particular way.
The French artist has exhibited these sculptures as at Association Limousin Art Contemporain & Sculptures in Limoges, France till March 23. In case his chewing gum creations will not be seen again anywhere else, at least they have been documented on various websites, all over the web. However, Hollywoodoscopies includes such elaborate art installations that it is definitely worth a sequel (as long as it does not have Bollywood in its name).
The website of the French artist is currently under construction, but people can still subscribe to his newsletter. Hopefully, we will see more unique things made by Jeremy Laffon in the near future. I really do not care if it’s made out of chewing gum or something else, as long as there is such a creative mind behind the project.
If you liked this post, please check the Face Forward kinetic sculpture and these surrealistic wood animals.
