Picturing Addiction

“Picturing Addiction” is a part of the Confounding Expectations lecture series, which is presented by Aperture Foundation, and the Photography Program of Parsons School of Design at The New School.

As the current opioid crisis continues to make national headlines, this panel brings together three photographers who are finding new ways of depicting addiction: Nina Berman‘s decades-long project looking at the trauma of addiction and the healing potential of collaborative art; Graham MacIndoe‘s nuanced yet powerful series of self-portraits and environments taken during the years he was addicted to heroin and crack; and Jeffrey Stockbridge’s compassionate photographs taken of those affected by drug addiction and prostitution along Kensington Avenue in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At a moment when 21 million Americans struggle with addiction, photography now plays a key role in shaping our understanding of this crisis. Moderated by Paul Moakley, Special Projects Editor at Time, this panel offers ways in which we can further the conversation beyond what we already know—that America is dealing with its worst addiction epidemic yet.

Participating panelists include Nina Berman, Graham MacIndoe, and Jeffrey Stockbridge.

This program is supported in part, by the Grace Jones Richardson Trust and William Talbott Hillman Foundation, and by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and with additional support from generous individuals, including the Board of Trustees and Members of Aperture Foundation.

Image: Graham MacIndoe, from the series Coming Clean, 2004–10