Singapore Biennale 2008

Beauty and the Beast - Layla Juma A. Rashid (2006)

Chewing-gum sculptures, photographs

"Wow, what's that?" everyone said in awe as they entered the rooms seeing images of light grey-ish sculptures on the wall.

I wondered what materials they were made from and thought that they looked interesting. So when we continued to the last room, everyone went, "Yuck!" There it was, one of the original sculpture stored in a glass case. Chewing gum!

Gum turns into a very flexible and primitive material, like clay with oil, when chewed and softened. Chewing gum is usually considered useless and discarded after being chewed. However, Rashid has transformed chewing gum into something of value through her means of artistic expression, knowing its property. Rashid talks about her work "Create a sculpture with many effects having different visual interpretations such as the characters of stories like 'Beauty and the Beast' or vague features of hidden or anonymous people or any other visual interpretation by the viewer. I therefore have transformed chewing gum from a useless object (discarded after using) to a useful object that serves my artistic ends."

Rashid presents chewing gum in a new way. Every different chewing gum sculpture she made, tels a unique and special story, depending on how different people interpret it. This is just like different faces you would meet on the streets. She sees a persoa in each sculpture, from fictitious characters to anonymous people.

Rashid is an artist who can carve out an original world with innovative and abstract ideas. She has given the people who have seen her artwork to interpret the artwork themselves. Therefore, different people would have different interpretations.

I feel that the chewing gum sculptures are like different young people, having different lives, different dreams and different paths. They look very different with different patterns and shapes. Yet, they were made from the same thing, chewing gum.

Not only that, the installation is characterized by a high contrast in proportions and in perception. The pictures of the chewing gum sculptures are enlarged, hanging on the walls, whereas the sculpture is small, exhibited in a glass box. Looking at the enlarged pictures would enable the viewers to see more details of the sculpture.

I like this installation as it tells me that everyone should do what they want to, and that is unique. Different people would have different personalities, characteristics and what we do or achieve is up to us, making us unique and special individuals.

Photo credits:

http://www.hangar.org/gallery/v/album02/album27/album607/beauty_beast.jpg.html