Opening Reception: The Meds I'm On

Featuring: Mayumi Amada, John Ilg, Rachael Jablo, Caitlin Karolczak, Nicole Medearis, Dougie Padilla, Sammy thrashLife, and Inna Valin With Performances by: Eddie Estrin and Mike Croswell Exhibition Run: March 21 - May 19, 2015 According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 50% of Americans regularly use one or more prescription drugs. Over 10% of us take 5 or more prescription drugs regularly. Often these medications help us live longer, healthier lives. Often there are side effects. Sometimes the meds make us worse. The same may be true for illicit drugs, of which 9% of Americans partake. Sometimes the ‘getting high’ or self-medication is a helpful break from reality, or a mild anti-depressant, sometimes it leads to addiction, side-effects, and overdose. The idea for this exhibit came as I was walking down 10th street and overheard a man saying to a friend, “The meds I’m on…” and he went on to talk about the side effects. I knew instantly that I wanted to do this show. I guessed we were the most medicated culture in history, and knew it was on our collective mind. It gives us an uneasy feeling. Are we winning a battle with nature? Are we overmedicating? Are the pharmaceutical companies overselling us? As the drugs pass from us, we find many of them in our water supply. When we live past our natural moment of death, is the grim reaper still knocking? Or is this just the miracle of being human? What does the prevalence of anti-depressants say about our society? Within a couple months of the day I overheard the man on 10th street, I went from being one of the 50% of Americans taking no prescription meds to the 10% that takes 5 or more regularly, and I’m probably now living past what me and nature would have worked out on our own. So the show feels pretty weighty on a personal level. This exhibition is a venue for conversation about our personal experiences with, or observations of medicine, aging, healthcare, addiction, etc. Come think with us.