The Chewing Gum Artist of Muswell Hill

While perusing this fascinating article (read it, it's good) on the costly problem of chewing gum litter on Edible Geography, my eye lit upon the mention of Muswell Hill and the artist Ben Wilson's solution to those hideous little patches.

Ben's tiny pavement works of art are beautiful and celebrate his locality and its people. 

A recent New York Times profile of him noted,

his pictures have become a chronicle of the neighborhood, a representation of its residents’ whimsies, sorrows and passions. Among the pictures dotted outside the post office, for example, are an R.I.P. painting for a postman and a picture of a tiger in honor of a postal worker who is from Sri Lanka.
To mark the closing of a Woolworth’s store a couple of years ago, Mr. Wilson crowded every employee’s name onto a piece of gum, along with a good-luck message from the managers. He painted another in which the employees thanked their customers. The two pictures are still there, even though the store is gone.

• Read the NYT profile here
• Ben has a Flickr group dedicated to his work.

Photo by Mathew DC on Flickr


I love this wonderful idea as much as I love the pothole gardener!