A mind on drugs visualized

Bryan Lewis Saunders is an interesting guy.  A visual artist, on March 30th 1995, he undertook to create at least one self-portrait everyday for the rest of his life. At present, he has more than 8,000. According to Saunders, “like fingerprints, snowflakes and DNA they are all different, no two are the same.”  Read some of the interviews to get inside his head.

One of the more intriguing aspects of this effort is an additional phase: “After experiencing drastic changes in my environment, I looked for other experiences that might profoundly affect my perception of self.  So I devised another experiment where everyday I took a different drug and drew myself under the influence.  Within weeks I became lethargic and suffered mild brain damage.  I am still conducting this experiment but over greater lapses of time.”

I would expect that the self-portrait he creates while under the influence is reflective of his state of mind.  In which case, it is clear that many drugs do not take you to happy places.  Others look fun.  Here are trips on a few of the more well-known drugs:

blSaunders_composite