CHARLOTTA RUTH
CHEWING - A pop-up street intervention and meditation on love.
Old, spit-out and stepped on chewing gums nearly fused with the stone or concrete are cut into heart shapes. While carving and reshaping the chewing gums, the action becomes a projection surface that interrupts the flow of people and every now and then stimulates a conversation.
The documentation was made during an intervention in Dubrovnik October 2025. The quotes are from comments and small conversations with by-passers.
Photos: Marko Ercegović
-I thought you are removing that but you left a heart over.
-Yes, I left a heart over. I'm chewing on something.
-Oh very nice... very many hearts already!
Oh, hvala ti, prekrasno je.
Tako si strpljiv.
-Can I ask you something? Why are you doing this... it's chewing gum...
-I thought it's nicer to turn them into hearts...
-Ok, but how can you check that it's chewing gum?
-I was checking a lot before, so now I always know when it's a chewing gum.
-Really?
-Almost all the black spots are chewing gums.
-Is it allowed?
-I think it's allowed to scratch away chewing gum. On this square I did many hearts so I hope it's allowed...
-It's better with hearts... yes!
Ce sont des cœurs!
The shaping of chewing gums was originally initiated secretly in the third district of Vienna during the public space investigations that I made during a year working grant in 2024. CHEWING has also found it's way into workshops at for instance brut Vienna.
-you can think of someone then I can make the next one for that person, you don't have to tell me who it is.
-I have to catch a flight.
-You don't have to stay, you can just think about that person while walking.
-Oh, thank you very much.
