changeling67 | Bryan Lewis Saunders - 50 Self Portraits (Reply)

self-portraits-different-drug-every-day-21

Bryan Lewis Saunders - Morphine

I appreciate that this story has been Facebooked many times, but the artist Bryan Lewis Saunders has been highlighted in the news recently, for his potentially deadly experiment - creating artwork under the influence of drugs. It began over twelve years ago and was conducted in quick succession, sometimes a different drug on concurring days. It is said that he suffered mild brain damage as a result, but is still experimenting over a decade later - using longer time lapses. Some would argue that who in their right mind would do such a dangerous thing (in my experience, artists aren't the norm, hence their ability to be able to create their art); some would say that it is an interesting experiment and shows how drugs alters perceptions in differing degrees. Some think it is contrived, a cop-out - with a fair amount of justification. Since when has the humble cough medicine made anyone trippy?

I am curious, because my only brush with drugs has been when a wisdom tooth operation went badly wrong (will spare you the description). After a concoction of codeine and diclofenac would not stop the agony, I had to be nuked with morphine - a weird drug. Things went very mushy, very spacey and I wasn't allowed out in the traffic, or indeed out of anyone's site for a week. When the severe bruising and soft tissue damage had receded, I had to be weened off of it and let me tell you, it was seriously horrible stuff. I was then put on Tegretol - a drug commonly used for the treatment of epilepsy, but also was effective in the treatment of nerve pain associated with trigeminal neuralgia. One of the side effects were that it also dampened down any sensations such as joy and generally made life absolutely cheerless - eventually, I decided that until I had a corrective operation, I would stick to the codeine, thanks.

Below, there are a few more of Lewis-Saunders' artwork. I seriously worry about the absinthe one - obviously didn't make the heart grow fonder (I know, bad joke). The PCP one is very troubling, because it gives a sense of the total absence of the artist at all - a barely-functioning shell. Disclaimer - do not try this at home as it is very, very dangerous - I would like to say now that I am not advocating drug use, but I am interested in the result.