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Nicola Freeman’s Giant Sweeties is a four-piece series of oversized, non-edible confectionery sculptures: Love Hearts, Sweetie Watch, Sweetie Necklace and Lolly Pop. Freeman made them for a degree show at the University of Wolverhampton, enlarging familiar sweets until their scale became startling while their surfaces remained playful and recognizable. The project uses faux food to connect childhood memory with mass consumerism.
The series and Freeman’s process were documented by Make: in 2011.
What are Nicola Freeman’s giant sweeties?
They are durable, heavyweight sculptures designed to look like giant versions of everyday confectionery. The objects are not edible: they are constructed forms whose color, gloss and familiar shapes create the illusion of sweets at an unexpected scale.
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| Work | What is established about it |
|---|---|
| Love Hearts | One of the four named sculptures; Freeman began work on it in September 2010 and made it as a solid plaster object. |
| Sweetie Watch | One of the four named sculptures; the source does not separately document its dimensions or construction. |
| Sweetie Necklace | One of the four named sculptures; it required repeated castings, produced over several weeks. |
| Lolly Pop | One of the four named sculptures; Freeman used plaster molds and experimented with resin, including a gelcoat reaction that created a realistic bubbled surface. |
The installation was arranged so visitors could walk around the pieces. Freeman made them strong enough to be touched and photographed with, making physical interaction part of the work rather than a prohibited behavior.
Why enlarge sweets to this scale?
Freeman said she began with food art and then enlarged it to a “shocking” scale. The initial surprise became something more playful and accessible: viewers recognized objects from ordinary life, but their altered size made them stop and look. Her stated subject was mass consumerism, approached through objects that are instantly familiar rather than through an abstract symbol.
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Childhood memory is equally important. Freeman chose sweets that had been available for a long time and that she remembered herself. She described the attraction as coming from the viewer’s response: people could relate to the pieces and find their own childhood memories returning. The sculptures therefore operate in two registers at once—consumer products as mass-produced commodities and sweets as intensely personal memories.
How were the sculptures made?
- Food-art experiments came first. Freeman developed the project from earlier work with food before committing to enlarged sculptural forms. Work on the Love Hearts and lollipops began in September 2010.
- Solid plaster supplied the weight. Freeman deliberately avoided a foam core. She wanted substantial, durable forms that could withstand handling and the demands of an installation in which visitors interacted with the pieces.
- Acrylic paint colored the plaster. She tested coloring methods and found acrylic paint gave the best result on the plaster surfaces.
- Mold materials changed during development. Freeman first used silicone molds, then moved to Gelflex. Gelflex can be melted and reused, an advantage when a mold is damaged or needs to be remade.
- Necklace production depended on repetition. Each mold took about 30 minutes to set. Making enough individual castings for the necklace took several weeks, showing why a seemingly simple repeated sweet form became a substantial production task.
- The lollipop combined plaster molding and resin. A potter’s wheel helped form the dome-shaped lollipop mold. Resin took about six hours to cure. A thicker gelcoat reacted with the original resin and bubbled; rather than discarding the result, Freeman found that the accident made the surface look more like a real confection.
Materials at a glance
| Material or tool | Use in the project |
|---|---|
| Solid plaster | Primary body material for the Love Hearts and other pieces; chosen for weight and durability. |
| Acrylic paint | Coloring the plaster after testing other methods. |
| Silicone | Initial mold-making material. |
| Gelflex | Later mold material that can be remelted and reused if damaged. |
| Resin | Used experimentally for the lollipop; approximately six hours to cure. |
| Potter’s wheel | Used to create the dome-shaped lollipop mold. |
How the viewer is meant to experience them
These are not sculptures intended to be understood from one fixed viewpoint. Walking around them reveals their full scale and makes the familiar forms physically present in the gallery. Touching and posing for photographs were anticipated parts of the encounter. That participatory design reinforces the contrast between the apparent softness and desirability of sweets and the actual solidity of plaster and resin.
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Freeman’s artistic direction
Freeman cited Claes Oldenburg and Jeff Koons as artists of interest—both relevant reference points for transforming commercial or everyday objects through scale, finish and display. She described the giant sweeties as her first substantial sculptural pieces and said she wanted to continue working in sculpture. Her fine-art training gave her room to move between food experiments, mold-making, casting, painting and resin rather than treating those media as separate specialties.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you see or buy Nicola Freeman’s Giant Sweeties?
The documented account concerns the University of Wolverhampton degree-show presentation and does not establish a current public display, touring schedule, sale listing or valuation for any of the four works. Availability may therefore have changed since the 2011 report; no authoritative current location or purchase route is established here.
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The Bottom Line
Nicola Freeman’s Giant Sweeties turns recognizable confectionery into solid, touchable sculpture. Its impact comes from the combination of scale shock, childhood recognition, carefully engineered material illusion and a clear question about how mass-produced sweets shape memory and desire.
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