There’s an artist called Chemical X who turns Ecstasy into art. He creates visual representations of the psychedelic experience ecstasy can induce, and it’s pretty darn cool.
The reason for his work is simple; he claims he creates these rave-culture inspired mosaics in order to revisit “an old friend or perhaps a feared enemy.”
What’s interesting about the mysterious Chemical X, beyond his penchant for narcotic artwork, are his associations. He’s collaborated previously with Banksy and Damien Hirst and is mostly known for his Ministry of Sound logo design.
Chemical X
Because of the edgy aspects of his pieces which almost always have within them thousands of illegal street drugs, it’s difficult to find a safe space to show them in; many galleries aren’t too keen.
His first exhibition was stopped at the last second due to legal concerns.
So how does he gather his supplies to make his artwork? It’s pretty difficult just to buy ecstasy off the street. He told Vice in 2014, that its all about the contingency plan.
“We make the pills in-house, we have two pill presses, one in my studio where we get the colours right using blanks and one elsewhere where they are made up with all the ingredients in.
The pieces are held in a secure location, and there is no cross contamination. We purchase the ingredients wholesale, so to speak, and we finance that through our sales to private buyers.”
If you want to see his work up close, he’s hosting an exhibition called ‘Tens years of getting away with it’ on May 31st at Exposure Gallery on Little Portland Street, starting at 6:30 pm.
Just don’t lick anything.
