How to explain a substance like Cocaine?

When my friend called me and asked description of how the drug feels like, I was challenged to give her a proper explanation. “Let’s see… Let’s assume it’s really Cocaine. It’s maybe the end of the day… you’re tired, your head isn’t very sharp anymore. And them you take the line. And in 20 seconds your whole experience changes. You start feeling like you took a nap of 2 hours and woke up fresh. You feel capable, and willing to put an effort in whatever task you’ll do next. Your thought process is clear and structured. Everything seems to have more contrast.

As I’m saying those words, I envisioned sharp rectangular shapes and realized that’s my new painting. I’m also playing on the “you’re brain on drugs” campaign from the 80s. The lower part of the painting looks murky, and this is the before stage – before you take “the line”. Then there’s a line that separates the canvas. And everything turns sharp, contrast, construct and starts fading into the darkness. If you see skyscrapers reflected in the river of a busy metropolis, that should remind you of New York in the 80s, and that’s another reference to this drug. Another name I gave this painting is “Good Cocaine” – that is the Performance Enhancer. The experience of effortless sharpness.

And everything is made out of lines.

Technique: This is a different technique than Techno Painting. Here I had a vision and I wanted to accurately translate it. First the canvas was separated to dark purple and lighter purple. Then I worked on the upper part. Adding lines and geometric structures, first with darker colors and then with much brighter colors. When finished with the upper part I flipped the canvas and this time made the structures only with purple and pink colors. This has created the “layer” effect.