Kirsten Mosher, Gumhead: Let’s Start a Pussy Riot!, 2013.
Gumhead? Spit it out! Yucky intestines or gum, hard to tell,
and didn’t your mother tell you not to stick that wad on the wall!
Gumheads are vigorously chewed pieces of brightly colored gum, with legs drawn in black marker. At once graffiti and intervention, they collide the graphic with the kinetic, appearing solo or as a band of pranksters in a series of stop-motion animations, books, sculptures, posters and installations. Gumheads wiggle, scamper and stick to doorframes, duck under tables and leap onto billboards with humorous Parkour-style acrobatics. Most at home where they don’t belong, Gumheads interact with the architecture and language of their surroundings with sneaky encounters and a quirky sense of humor.
Without offering any answers, Gumheads gleefully promote social action through provocative shouts that include “Pollution Makes Me Happy,” “Oligarchy Rules” and, of course, “Love the Sexist.” As you have probably figured out by now, “Let’s Start a Pussy Riot” is a stop-motion video inspired by Pussy Riot’s song “Kill the Sexist” and the fate of the Russian feminist performance collective and punk rock band.
Keep on chewing,
Love,
Gumhead
Gumheads have enlisted me and many writers, translators, musicians and designers to collectively bring their hijinks into the world. Sound by Curran Davis. Special thanks to Emely Neu and Let’s Start a Pussy Riot.
Kirsten Mosher