For this project I have been inspired by many different artists and from my own development. The “hooked” exhibition I went to really helped to develop my knowledge in different addictions like sugar addiction, gaming addiction and social media addiction. As there were many exhibits of these addictions and they gave a very clear explanation on what each one meant with great examples. I was surprised that there wasn’t that much on drugs as I thought there would be more on it. This ignited the idea to focus my hooked theme on drug addiction and to try and learn more about how artists get inspired by drugs to do there work.

I found an artist on pinterest that used really nice vibrant colors so I decided to try and replicate one of her pieces so I used colouring pencils. I liked the outcome so I tried more color drawings. I liked them all however, I didn’t think I’d be able to do one as a final piece .I didn’t really know what my final piece was going to be but I tried to research as much as possible- things on paedophilia and and different artists  until Finally, I found an artist who detached parts of the face and mixed them up and that inspired me to do my final piece.

I had already heard of Bryan Lewis before starting this project and really liked the project he was doing - doing a different drug each day and make something out of it although it is dangerous and could hugely impact his mental and even physical health. I also looked into how drugs were viewed in the 80’s and there was something there trying to stop people from using drugs and I liked the posters that were made. This inspired me to present my work in a more open way. It inspired me to photocopy my final piece lots of time and put them on the wall this is to try and raise more awareness of drugs and how it can affect people in the long run. 

In this project I also got to interview a drug recruitment officer named ‘Ralph’. He told us the process people go through if they do get caught with illegal drugs / substances. He also told us about some of his own experience with drugs as he was an addict before he got into that line of work and he went to a rehabilitation centre where he found his career in helping people get clean. Hearing this from someone who had gone through what people are yet to go through was very interesting and it was a very pleasant experience. I believe that interviews with people who have really lived your theme is a very good source to learn from. 

 

I used fine liner to make my final piece and it took me around six hours and a half. Through my final piece I'm trying to show the harm in taking drugs as you don’t have full control of yourself when you are under the influence- high. Certain drugs can be addictive and when you are addicted it is very difficult to get out so in my final piece , I’m trying to shop the depression side of drugs and the unknown, as you don’t know what you are capable of doing when you are high let alone the health implications that drugs bring. To make my final piece better I feel like I could have actually stuck up some photocopies and taken some pictures but unfortunately I didn’t have much time. In addition to that I feel like I could have done more book work and researched more into different types of drugs. Overall I believe my final piece was successful.

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