— TITLE
Frida 4587, A Gum Mosaic
— ROLE
Artist
— MATERIALS
4x4 Wood Panel
Canel's Chiclet Gum
Hot Glue
— DATE
06/2017
07/2021
Frida 4587 is a portrait of the renowned Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, made up of 4587 pieces of Canel's gum. This gum aka "chiclets", are deeply rooted in nostalgia, or what I call "Chicanostalgia."
As a child, I remember visiting Mexico with my family and roaming the colorful mercados. I have vivid memories of the fruit stands, street performers, and kids my age selling candy. It's undeniable the influence these memories have had on my work.
A visual designer by trade, at a basic level, my job involves me pushing pixels around the screen. On this occasion, after designing the layout on screen, I traded pixels for chiclets and got to work.