On Millennium Bridge, Ben Wilson has transformed chewing gum into the canvas for his miniature artworks. Among the ugly spots of discarded gum, some have been transformed into colourful images almost unnoticed under the feet of passing tourists.
One of the images is dated 26 July 2012 - just in time for the Olympics, although they are not a theme in the work. Instead, there are tiny images of people, fish, fantastical creatures, and names - Wilson will paint requests.
Another was painted two days earlier, an indication of the time it takes to produce these pavement images - about three hours each.
Chewing gum isn't a very durable painting surface, so it first has to be heated with a blowtorch and coated with acryclic enamel. Then the tiny, intricate images can be painted, metamorphosing some of the more unpleasant litter on our streets into miniature pieces of art.
