Artist Statement

Antipsychotics are a type of medication used to treat a wide variety of psychological illnesses. It functions through the altering of brain chemistry, changing the levels of serotonin and dopamine the brain creates in an attempt to regulate one’s mental illness. Most prominently, it presents itself as a solution for those struggling with schizophrenia.

Last summer, I went to my family doctor and requested a referral to a psychiatrist for my poorly regulated depression and anxiety. I was told that seeking this type of help would not benefit me,that there was no way a young healthy woman like me could be actually depressed enough to be requesting more than the small dose of Fluoxetine I had been on for a year. In order to combat my “hysteria” regarding the situation, I was wrongfully given two prescriptions for antipsychotic medication without any prior assessment. The effect these substances had on my body was shocking for being such small pills, but they were detrimental.

With this project, I wanted to visually explore the toll these medications took on my body, seeing the chemical reaction they produce by adding these chemicals to instant film representations of my body and exploring the way it alters the film as it did myself. I was greatly inspired by the work of Andy Warhol: his polaroids, self portraits, and most importantly, his Oxidation Paintings, in which he explored the visual chemical reactions of substances excreted. As a controversial figure in his time who created for the sake of creation, I wish to pay homage to Warhol by creating this performance piece, Antipsychotic Portrait, in conversation with his lasting artistic legacy.