Original artwork description:

This is one of the first pictures I created after my move to Taiwan in 2001. It is inspired by my first impressions and reactions to the huge Culture Shock that it was! Taiwan is a very beautiful tropical island paradise that is very different in many ways to my hometown of Liverpool, England. This piece was inspired by the culture of selling and chewing Betel Nuts that a lot of Taiwanese like to do. Chewing Betel Nuts can help give you more energy and stamina and many labourers like to chew them. They give you a buzz and cause your mouth and teeth to turn a dark reddish brown colour. They can be bought all over the country, but outside Taipei City the sellers are often beautiful young ladies displayed in glass boxes on the side of the road to attract customers. It is a sight to behold! This piece was created after travelling around the island by bike and seeing many of these Betel Nut Girls and their customers pulling up on scooters or in blue vans with their red stained mouths. It is another of the many interesting cultural sights and differences that can be found here in Taiwan.
It is drawn in Charcoal over some other images of my flat mate at the time’s cat. I used charcoal for most of the image and painted the teeth red to make them stand out, I also attached a piece of coloured tape I found to add to the collaged effect.
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Materials used:

Charcoal, Gouache and Mixed Media

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