Mixed media (20cmx20cm)

Drug trafficking is one of the most resilient and lucrative industries in the world, with estimated annual revenues of between $426 billion and $652 billion. Reflected in this is the rise in associated global violence, conflicts and insurgencies that may be resourced, or prolonged, from the finance of the illicit drugs trade. Alongside this, there is a steady growth in smaller, localised and armed criminal networks which are also diversifying in illegal activities fuelled by the drugs trade.

This work is a visual statement about the brutal reality of 'recreational' drugs, in this case cocaine, that continues to have its long-established glamour among many of the rich and famous, while the ‘lower orders’ are generally vilified and criminalised. The image articulates one aspect of the misery and destruction the trade causes to communities and individuals with its associated violence.