Unseen seen

Since moving here 2.5 years ago I’m haunted by what we see on our frequent bus trips downtown. I finally went and researched a particular stance that addicts would strike in the middle of the sidewalk or park, seemingly oblivious to everything happening around them. It has been called “The dope fiend lean” and more recently, the Fent Fold. Reading accounts of addicts on Reddit and digging into medical journals and articles helps me understand the state these people are in. But, even though they are in a state of euphoria, their blood pressure is so low they cannot raise their head above their heart or they’d pass out - missing the euphoria. I’ve begun a series of sketches as a foundation for some paintings I want to do to explore this heartbreakingly un-human stance. Here’s one of them - unable to stand up, sealed up in a world, unable to escape… hopefully showing the work somewhere, somehow to create some kind of understanding of the underlying social issues that simply allow us all to become numb to it all.