'Food is the Drug'
I coloured pills with food colouring to make them look like sweets and communicate how freely they are consumed like food at a dinner party.
The Perverse Abuse of Substance
Continuing to explore and examine social issues and the use of Art to communicate messages to provoke conversation. It is a response to my recent experience of losing two close friends from substance abuse and is in part a reaction to the normalisation of drug use in some sub sections of society which are less to do with addiction and seemingly more sociably acceptable because of the “Party/Social use” particularly in middle class youth. The truth however is that despite the less depraved look on the outside these drugs effect Mental Health and all too often, be it the first time or the 20th time a young person has tried a drug cause Death.
These pieces reference the short term joyful, colourful experience drugs are seen to provide as a part of the Social and Party scene
'Smoke and Emotion'
'Pallet Series'
For these pieces I wanted to use items sourced for free and used the local WhatsApp group created during quarantine to ask for drug boxes from the local community, the amount donated is surprising in itself.
'Pallet Series'
'Pallet Series'
'Pallet Series'
The skulls reference death and strip the head of expression and emotion. The colours of the pills and marbling on the skulls reference what’s going on inside the head, the contradiction between colour, fun and eventual decline.
'Inside the Skull'
'Abuse and Death'
The gauze bandage embedded with pills is a reference to both the damage to the person and the covering up of the issue.
This Final Piece reflects the Finality that a One time drug misuse can have.
'Final Resting'
'Food is the Drug'
I coloured pills with food colouring to make them look like sweets and communicate how freely they are consumed like food at a dinner party.
The Perverse Abuse of Substance
Continuing to explore and examine social issues and the use of Art to communicate messages to provoke conversation. It is a response to my recent experience of losing two close friends from substance abuse and is in part a reaction to the normalisation of drug use in some sub sections of society which are less to do with addiction and seemingly more sociably acceptable because of the “Party/Social use” particularly in middle class youth. The truth however is that despite the less depraved look on the outside these drugs effect Mental Health and all too often, be it the first time or the 20th time a young person has tried a drug cause Death.
These pieces reference the short term joyful, colourful experience drugs are seen to provide as a part of the Social and Party scene
'Smoke and Emotion'
'Pallet Series'
For these pieces I wanted to use items sourced for free and used the local WhatsApp group created during quarantine to ask for drug boxes from the local community, the amount donated is surprising in itself.
'Pallet Series'
'Pallet Series'
'Pallet Series'
The skulls reference death and strip the head of expression and emotion. The colours of the pills and marbling on the skulls reference what’s going on inside the head, the contradiction between colour, fun and eventual decline.
'Inside the Skull'
'Abuse and Death'
The gauze bandage embedded with pills is a reference to both the damage to the person and the covering up of the issue.
This Final Piece reflects the Finality that a One time drug misuse can have.
'Final Resting'