Since 2013, artist Ben Wilson, nicknamed ‘chewing gum man’, has been making tiny artworks on London’s iconic Millennium bridge, using trodden on chewing gum for canvases.
From 8am on Saturday 14th October 2023, the bridge will be closed for engineering works, and much of Ben’s 600 + tiny artworks will be removed aspart of this cleaning and regeneration process.
Wilson is very upset by this news, as are many local fans of his little, whacky ‘pavementPicassos’. He says, “I’ve been working on this bridge since 2013, transforming rubbish into art. I’m quite literally taking what is thrown away and spat out and turning it into a piece of artwork.”
A Change.org petition is currently calling fora minimum of 100 of Wilson’s artworks to be saved as a compromise.
If you don’t manage to visit the bridge in time before it’s temporary closure (till 5th November), you can revisit Dr Mulvenna’s video walk during 2019 where she discovered Wilson’s hidden and magical urban graffiti during lockdown.
Video walkalong