"You Can Only Kill Us Once" von The Opioid Crisis Lookbook

In the organizer's words:

Opening: Friday, 1.11.2024, 8 pm
TOBIAS SPICHTIG, LUCY (COOPER B HANDY), TARANEH, EVANORA UNLIMITED. Admission 20 euros (Box Office)

With "You Can Only Kill Us Once", Trauma Bar und Kino presents the first major European exhibition of The Opioid Crisis Lookbook (OCL), curated by magazine founders Dustin Cauchi, Dasha Zaharova and Berlin-based curator Samuel Staples.

The exhibition features works by Zaharova, Cauchi and Liam Denhamer, with architecture by Juvenilia inspired by the scenographic drawings of Kurt Cobain. Archival video works and images merge with new works in different temporalities and scenographic spaces - including a crooner in Cobain's poppy field, a giant tarp structure reminiscent of homeless encampments in Los Angeles, as well as archival material and never-before-seen videos. The exhibition is accompanied by an original soundtrack by Bill Kouligas and live music and performative elements by artists from the USA and Europe. The immersive neo-grunge experience invites visitors to become part of the OCL multiverse.

Background

In 1996, the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma launched the drug OxyContin and falsely marketed it as a "safe" opioid painkiller, even though it was highly addictive. Purdue Pharma aggressively pushed for the deregulation of opioids, which expanded the use of OxyContin from the treatment of chronic pain to any type of pain. Fueled by billions in profits, Purdue Pharma flooded the market while ill-informed doctors prescribed the drug nationwide. Deregulation, bribery and incessant marketing led to massive overprescribing and triggered the deadliest health crisis in U.S. history: Millions of victims, 100,000 overdose deaths annually. Since 2021, 2.1 million people have become addicted to opioids and 200 Americans die every day from overdoses, while heroin is in short supply and synthetic opioids are filling the gaps and both accounts and cemeteries are growing rapidly.

Kurt Cobain, a cultural icon until 1994, symbolized the transition from the pre-opioid crisis in the U.S. to the crisis itself. Studies predict that at least one million more people will die from the opioid crisis by 2030 if radical changes are not made.

The Opioid Crisis Lookbook was founded in 2019 by Dustin Cauchi in response to the North American opioid crisis. OCL aims to document the crisis by focusing on marginalized narratives and reinterpreting dominant narratives by destigmatizing addiction and celebrating the monstrous and sublime cultures that the crisis has produced.

MAGAZINE: OCL - Issue 3 is finally here

The most comprehensive issue to date with over 250 pages in a limited edition with contributions from Chris Kraus, Petra Collins, Liam Denhamer, Moni Haworth, Blackhaine, Cookie Mueller, BFRND, Philipp Timischl, Grandma, Layne Staley <3 Demri Parrott, Laura Albert / JT LeRoy, Comet, Justin Ongeri, The Rotterdam Junkie Union, Bobby Morebed, Cat Tebo, Will Sheldon & Charlie Fox, God's Wisdom, Yip Degouti, Simone Weil, Saoirse Bertram, Yoko Ono, Enriqueta Romero / La Santa Muerte, Sematary, Theresa Duncan, Taraneh, Cory Villanueva, Heidi Fleiss, The Maitreya, Cooper B Handy, Jack Self, Tobias Spichtig, The Neo-Grunge Coven, Jon Rafman + many more. The Black & Blood & Poppy Gold cover was designed by Dustin Cauchi x Jon Rafman.

Price information:

Box office