How Long do pharmaceuticals stay in the environment? what is the impact on our natural waterways?

Rocks were collected from rivers and streams around the northern region of Oregon from Multnomah County, Washington County, and Clackamas County. A single rock was collected from the Pacific Ocean at the Oregon Coast. River rocks are naturally tumbled into roughly rounded forms. I carefully selected rocks of various color and composition that already bore a resemblance to the geometric shapes of prescription pills. I then brought these to the studio and carved them into the round, elongated, diamond, and oval shapes shown in the images above. Prescription pills are formed by what is similar to a casting process, which gives them a particularly sharp and clean look. I decided early on that to retain the nature of these stones as river rocks, I needed to work with the existing shapes and retain as much of the natural surfaces as possible. After the stones were shaped, I “imprinted” them by carving various combinations of my initials and their year of creation (2020). 14 stones were carved, and 9 were placed back into rivers. Yellow markers reflect locations where stones were collected, red markers reflect locations where stones were re-deposited. This is the completed first phase of this project. I have decided that it will be ongoing, and will add to this project each year.

There are multiple facets to every artwork. The primary component of Atlas Drugged is to highlight the long-lasting nature of the constant release of prescription medications into the natural environment. The decision to focus on this topic evolved out of a combination of factors in my history, including a love of the natural landscape of the Pacific Northwest, working previously as a state-certified pharmacy technician, and my 5-month artist residency in 2018 (GLEAN) during which I gave materials a second life while reflecting on the environmental impact of material disposal.

The second main component of Atlas Drugged is creating an analogy between artwork and addiction. I have invested massive amounts of time, money, and energy into developing a career as an artist. There is no logic or glory to it; I simply pursue art because I feel I must. It can be good medicine or bad medicine, depending on the day, but I cannot live without it. In fact, I feel quite certain that becoming an artist saved my life, in spite of the many challenges that come with it. The stones that have returned to the natural environment are a form of public art. They are out there, free for the viewing or taking. They may sink into the mud and become a permanent part of the landscape. Whether an artist sells an artwork, gives it away, or even throws it away, it existed, and the process of creating the artwork has changed the artist and will influence whatever they create afterward.