The Ecstasy Collection

Love & Death

Love & Death was the first piece in the collection to be completed. The work addresses the dichotomy between the intense pleasure and feeling of love and empathy induced by taking MDMA and the unregulated and therefore potentially fatal outcome due to ignorance of the actual ingredients involved or their potency. Love & Death contains 6,607 ecstasy pills, however, 100 pills included randomly throughout the work contain the poison arsenic. No one, not even the artist, knows which ones they are. All of the pills are embossed with the symbol of the skull & crossbones, long established as indicating poison. This represents the willingness of ecstasy users to take drugs, despite being warned of the potential risks.

Background:

This piece is intended to be hung in a way that allows the viewer to circumnavigate the work in order to see both sides.

Year

2011

Size

W 1300mm x H 1700mm
(51” x 67”)

Materials

Museum grade non-reflective, UV resistant laser cut cast acrylic.

Contains 6607 pills made from microcellulose, magnesium stearate and other materials. 100 pills also contain arsenic. Embossed with skull & cross bones.

Framed with integrated wire hangings.