Artist draws self-portraits on different drugs & gives himself brain damage

Regardless of your personal opinions on drugs, it’s pretty tough to say that they have no place in society or that the various effects they have on the human body aren’t worth studying. That’s one of the reasons we found this particular sequence of paintings interesting. The artist drew a different self-portrait on a range of different drugs, and while we’ll never know just how much conscious decision went into each one, the interpretations of each drug and the artist’s self-perception make for pretty interesting viewing.

Yeah, look, obviously, we’re talking about a drug-related topic here, and we always wanna make sure that we’re looking at this from a scientific perspective. We’re all about free choice and individual decision, but we’re not here to advocate the use of drugs. We’re just presenting this information on the basis that you’ll find it interesting.

Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Back in 1995, the artist, Bryan Lewis Saunders, decided to create a new self-portrait every day. So far, he’s created more than twelve-thousand of the f**kers, but most interesting is the subset of paintings known as the ‘Under the Influence’ set.

Weed. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Morphine IV. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

LSD. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Absinth. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

He started this part of the experiment in 2000, and he’s created more than a few. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that during this phase, trips to the hospital became regular and Saunders gave himself brain damage. Yeah, nah, drugs are bad.

Valium. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Xanax. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Bath Salts. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Opium. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Cough Syrup. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

He said the brain damage resulted in psychomotor retardation and confusion so now he only uses drugs prescribed by the doctor.

Nitrous Oxide. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Cocaine. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

During and after-effects of DMT. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Abilify. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Khat. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Nevertheless, his original goal was to capture ‘experiences that might profoundly affect his perception of self’ in his art. It’s pretty safe to say he’s done that.

Ambien. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Carbon Monoxide. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Crystal Meth. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Ativan & Haloperidol. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Psilocybin Mushrooms. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Alcohol. Credit: Bryan Lewis Saunders

Final thought: Yeah, nah, as we said above, from a purely scientific perspective, this is some pretty interesting s**t. Let us know what you think in the comments section, and remember, if you’re doing drugs, be safe, don’t force them on others, and use your common sense with them.

Just in case you missed it, here’s one of Ozzy’s latest commentary videos…Ozzy Man Reviews: Forklift Fails

H/T: BORED PANDA.