Eat-Less - 2010 - silkscreened and formed - 10 x 2.7 x .8 in - edition of 12
This is an empty calorie bar. On the back it says that there is absolutely nothing in this package, and there isn't! So often I make stuff with such valuable and choice material inside, but nobody wants to open the package for fear of missing out on its collectable value, like leaving a toy or action figure in the mint package. So in this case, as much as I actually wanted to have a comic book inside, I thought, why bother... the wrapper is enough. That's all there is. The visual gag is long lasting and it does actually go deeper than that.
These, I've been making since 1999 and is one of my earliest novelty items. It also happens to be number 23 of an ongoing series of books that I have called the Acid Man Society.
At this time I was thinking about different ways of disguising a book and different ways of packaging my art. I was wondering , "where are some unlikely types of packaging where you may find a book inside but at the some time keeping the form of the package in line with a book format". Through previous issues of Acid Man I was already familiar with making tiny books and because the cost of making them had always been an issue, if I was able to make a book with with one 8.5 x 11 in sheet of paper, then all the better. I also wanted to have a book in color which costs even more. I was thinking about gum wrappers ( I have a collection) I was looking at my "breath" doodles (I have a collection) - they were already small and narrow, plus they had the added hint of freshening your visual breath. Oh wow, a Visual Chew!
These are the size of an actual stick of gum and to top it all off there is a white powder that gets all over you! Just like the real stuff. On the edge of the wrapper is says: Keep foil wrapper to ensure collectable value. I really wanted people to open them up, not expecting them to put it all back together over and over again after showing people, but to keep all the components safe and sound and then at one point it can be reassembled carefully for it's collectable value. I've given some to people not even knowing there is a book inside and they just save them, thinking its just an old stick of gum. But I have that in another product of mine. Later.
Oh, You can go to Doodle Babel to get a taste of what these breath drawings are like or you can go to the Nakfactorium store online to order yours today!
