I have developed a "pharma-pointillist" technique in my most recent works, in which I build up an image out of pill-shaped dots. Each pill shape is matched with the color of its branding and is infused with the specific pharmaceutical in question, such as ADHD medicine, antidepressants, birth control, erectile dysfunction pills, and opioids, injecting the painting with color and actual psychotropic drugs. To heighten the chemical nature of these works, I am primarily using synthetic surfaces such as polyester canvas, Tyvek, and Kevlar ballistic fabric, the latter of which adds another layer of violence to the work.
I'm interested in the relationship between the parallel development in Western Modernism of abstract forms of art and synthetic pharmaceutical and pigment production in the late 1800s. I use source images from contemporary advertising that are remarkably evocative of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting. These images allow me to explore how representation, abstraction, and chemical materiality infuse bodies and cultural narratives.