The term "pharmakon" was used by Socrates to describe the hemlock he ingested in a final act of suicide. To Socrates, the hemlock was both poisonous and medicinal, ending his physical life but restoring his soul to an eternity with the gods. Today, we understand the pharmakon as that which can both cure and kill: nuclear radiation is both a toxic element and form of cancer treatment; cell phones can provide emergency roadside assistance but can also be used to detonate car bombs. The pharmacological work in this exhibition, which ranges from painting and sculpture to sensor-based media and video, explores the concepts of irony, indeterminacy, and opposition by combining radically divergent elements in the same physical space.

 

Pharmakon is a presentation of the Critical Media Lab in conjunction with the SLSA Conference