Major Project

I have been working on a project for sometime now. My area of photography is the recording of crime scenes and so whatever I did would need to be depicted using the same methodology and approach.

I wanted the subject to be topical in order to have more impact. During research into a suitable subject I came upon the recent story of a Government chemist - Professor Nutt who lost his job as a result of publishing an article in the medical journal - The Lancet.

Although what Prof Nutt said was very controversial, he did have data to back it up however, he still lost his job. The reason was of course that we cannot have eminent scientists suggesting that heroin or ecstasy, both illegal, are less harmful than alcohol, which of course IS legal. However the point Prof Nutt was trying to make is that alcohol IS more harmful to society as a whole than other 'A' class drugs, He was not comparing the harm done to the individual by these substances.

I decided to try and find some evidence of the potential harm to society caused by 'A' class drugs and alcohol. The results were so one sided in that there is an abundance of evidence related to alcohol but barely anything related to 'A' class drugs. It could be of course because one is legal and the other one is not.

These results did not bode well for a project relying heavily on images, as it would be a bit one sided. As a result of my research however, I became aware of just how much potential devastation and misery can be caused by alcohol alone.  

My daughter began University last September. Since then I have become more aware of the drink culture amongst students - getting smashed out of your head each week seems almost a 'right of passage' through Uni! This reminded me of one of my own undergraduate students I was working in the laboratory with a few years ago, I commented on how white she looked and she told me she had recently had one of her kidneys removed. This was as a result of alcohol abuse. She had been brought up in a convent where alcohol was banned and when she came to Uni she indulged wholeheartedly to the extent of hospitalization.

This is obviously an extreme case. There are help centres and advisory groups within the University that students can go to, but these address the problem after it has happened. Everyday on my way around the University I see people handing out flyers to students promoting cheap/free drinks.

There doesn't seem to be anything that warns students of the dangers of over indulgence before it happens and so this gave me the idea of producing a hard hitting but well photographed publication aimed at student alcohol awareness.