Gums
Marybeth Chew
3.5 x 4.25 inches
watercolor on cold press paper
2022
Statement from the artist:
"As a person with uneven teeth, and additionally being a person without dental insurance, I empathize with these mouths, and with the anxieties of these images.. pain, money stress, health stress, social issues, social reactions, the broad fears represented in those strange symbolic dreams...As I write this I can feel the imaginary tooth crumble on my tongue in those dreams.
The implied communication and sound of these images also has humor, like chattering teeth toys. En masse there's a frozen chaotic moment of contradiction and fight for dominance. As a group, each demanding
attention, they create a rippling contronym of communication, snarling or smiling."
