Courtesy of the artist
Italian sculptor Maurizio Savini has turned chewing gum into an art form, shaping pounds of the sticky stuff into satirical and politically-engaged works. In an ironic turn his sculptures have gone on display at the Partners & Mucciaccia gallery in Singapore, possibly the most gum-averse place in the world.
Courtesy of the artist
"I like that gum is the only product you'll put in your mouth but won't actually eat it," says the artist. "You'll end up spitting it out. I also like to give a form of beauty to something useless."
Courtesy of the artist
Inspired by an African tale, Savini's giraffe satirizes the gulf between EU powerbrokers in Brussels and the rest of the population.
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Savini and his assistants mold the gum around fiberglass frames, making the gum malleable with hot air guns rather than chew it. In fact, the artist confesses he doesn't have a taste for the stuff.
Courtesy of the artist
Once upon a time Savini unwrapped individual sticks of gum, which he bought in bulk. Now he's sent it directly from the factory, mercifully unwrapped.
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Savini began with oil paints, but moved on to unusual materials including potato and bread. He settled with chewing gum in 1996 when he first experimented with an expired batch thrown out by a shopkeeper.
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Savini created a military jacket bearing logos of peace in one of his latest sculptures.
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Framed by a faux-iPhone, "Steve" is one of the artist's micro-mosaics, large and detailed works comprised of dyed gum.
Courtesy of the artist
Artworks average $13,500 for a small portrait to $90,000 for a large sculpture

Story highlights

Artist Maurizio Savini uses chewing gum as his medium for politically-charged sculptures

Savini's work goes on display in famously gum-averse Singapore

Sculptures can sell for as much as $90,000

CNN  — 

Entering the art gallery in Singapore, my attention is immediately drawn to a three-meter-tall pink giraffe that is draped in an EU flag and stands shackled by rope amid broken objects and small figures frozen in time fighting each other.

This striking conversation piece, titled “Too Far Away from the Heart,” was inspired by an African tale that Italian artist Maurizio Savini read in a childrens book. In the story, the animals of the savannah are angry at Giraffe’s lack of consideration, but when they confront her, she replies that her head is too far away from her heart to have feelings.

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This struck a chord with Savini who reinterprets the tale as a representation of the EU’s powerbrokers in Brussels, bound by bureaucracy and out of touch with the people.

Such serious political allegories are made that little bit more accessible by the material Savini chooses to use for his creations: chewing gum covering a fiberglass structure. In fact, nearly all Savini’s works on display at Partners & Mucciaccia’s gallery right now, are made of gum, an unusual material for making artworks, but one that has helped make the artist stand out.

“Many of my works look at hard, difficult subjects – like environmental issues, violence, economic injustice, animal cloning. Using chewing gum is my way of drawing people in,” Savini explains while gently re-shaping a detail on a sculpture of a pink missile.

20 years of gum

The unconventional material is certainly intriguing — and no, he doesn’t chew the gum himself (in fact he confesses he doesn’t even have a taste for it), instead, the artist and his two assistants heat up blocks of gum with a hot air gun rather like a large hair dryer.

In the beginning, he had to unwrap single sticks of gum, which he bought in bulk in shops, but now the gum is sent unwrapped directly from a factory. The warmed gum is pressed around the fiberglass structure or mold like clay before it is coated with a mixture of formaldehyde and antibiotics to preserve it. So no snacking on the finished works!

Courtesy of the artist

Among some of the other artworks on display is “American Breakfast,” a large glass table with a bubble-gum-pink crocodile; “Military Utopia,” a large military jacket covered with various signs and symbols associated with peace, and a series of works on what look like large iPads and iPhones that comprise a micro-mosaic of dyed gum to render personalities in the public eye.

“Today we’re constantly attracted to pictures on our phones which we consume at the speed of light. I wanted to stop and take a counter position — I wanted to create an image very slowly [with this time-consuming micro-mosaic technique], and give a different perspective of time,” he explains.

Like many artists, Savini started with oil paints, but he soon found himself experimenting with unusual materials, like potatoes and bread. In 1996, while walking in the streets of Rome, he saw a large box of bubble gum that had been thrown away by a storekeeper because the batch had expired.

Intrigued, he brought it back to his studio and after a few days, the powerful smell of the gum prompted him to unwrap the package and play with it. “I made a head sculpture and that’s when I realized the potential of the material, which is very malleable,” he recalls.

A nod to Singapore

Savini likes the sugary smell, because it attracts the viewers to come closer. Drawn by the smell they actually study the work. While the gum also brings to mind an artificial world, the material has other conceptual links he likes to explore: “I like that gum is the only product you’ll put in your mouth but won’t actually eat it. You’ll end up spitting it out. I also like to give a form of beauty to something useless,” he quips.

Courtesy of the artist
"American Breakfast" (2016)

Valter Spano, gallery director of Partners & Mucciaccia, describes Savini as “a true artist, very focused on his art,” and points out that “while it may seem rather simple at first, his work is actually very complex. He uses the bright pink to attract people, but once you come closer and really go inside his work there is a very deep meaning to his pieces.” Artworks average $13,500 for a small portrait to $90,000 for a large sculpture.

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Of course, if you are an artist making a living using chewing gum as a medium, it would be hard to resist coming to Singapore without creating a little something especially for the occasion: a portrait of Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s first Prime Minister after its independence.

After all, this is a city-state famous for banning the importation of chewing gum for years – though there has been some relaxation for dental chewing gums. However, Spano tactfully explains that Mr Lee was included in recognition of his achievements as a leader: “He was the man who transformed a swamp into a primary financial center in the world… so I think he fit perfectly with all the powerful people included in this exhibition!”