The Ecstasy Collection

Raving Mad: Molly

Raving Mad references a Victorian practice in which members of the public visited institutions such as the notorious Bedlam Hospital in London to pay to view the inmates, like a grotesque zoo. This piece depicts a contorted face emerging from the blackness, twisted and demented, but it is the face of a ‘gurner’ on the dance floor as they rush on the intensity of their high rather than any mental illness. In normal daylight the image is hidden in a sea of plain white pills but once the black light takes over, the apparition appears from the darkness.

Background:

The image of Molly (ironically, the actual name of the model, not the American slang for MDMA) was created in real life. The Molly was given a dose of MDMA and filmed at 60fps until the moment arrived where the effects were such that her expression was just how the artist envisioned. The precise frame was chosen and recreated in pill form.

This piece can also be commissioned as a portrait.