Throughout college, I've been on what feels like a hundred different dosages of a hundred different medications. I've tried adhering closely to doctors' orders and I've tried ignoring them entirely, unsatisfied at almost every turn. Which cocktail of plastic and powder would make me feel like - well - me? But after trying so many times throughout the existential years of my late teens and early 20s, I started to wonder if I really was looking for what I thought I was. Had it become more important to create a drug-assisted ideological version of self-hood, or a drug-free version of a self that wasn't strong enough to live without the meds in the first place?
In a collection of semi-autographical poems that will explore the effects of different drugs on the psyche and the individual identity, I plan to address a struggle with which I and many of my peers have dealt, with the intention of processing those levels of frustration associated with caring for the mind.
Really intrigued by this idea! This might not be quite along the lines of what you were thinking of, but your proposal reminded me of an exhibit that was at the British Museum years ago. Sharing in case it leads to interesting routes in terms of form/ visuals: http://www.urban75.org/blog/thousands-of-pills-cradle-to-grave-by-pharmacopoeia-at-the-british-museum/
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fantastic! I'm interested in how you'll accomplish this task: will you rely on experience or will you do research?
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