In this series, Bunnag draws inspiration from the grotesque and wondrous images of historical print works by Jacques Callot and Francisco Goya such as The Miseries and Misfortunes of War (1633) and The Disasters of War (1810-1820). Using the process of relief printmaking, the artist creates exceptionally detailed, large scale prints that capture the unfocused and ultimately destructive energy of governmental response to illegal narcotics in the war on drugs. In the spirit of the early masters, the prints offer the same unflinching documentation of the unintended consequences of war: brutality, human suffering, and lost civilian lives.
Enterrar y callar (Bury Them and Keep Quiet), 1863 by Francisco Goya (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
“The War on Drugs” was a term coined in the early 1970s when the US government initiated a global, organized campaign with the ultimate goal of discouraging the production, distribution, and consumption of psychoactive substances. It has been widely criticized for its ineffectuality and tendency to adversely and disproportionately penalize marginalized and vulnerable populations. It continues to receive an estimated 51 billion US dollars from the United States alone annually.
Cocaine Hurricane, 2020, Relief linocut, 112 x 55 cm
Each piece in the series features one monstrous embodiment of a drug wreaking havoc on hapless people. By way of example, in Cocaine Hurricanethe monster is a manifestation of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel. Escobar is credited for single-handedly turning the cocaine trade into the violent and destructive business it is today. The cocaine hurricane itself wears the drug lord’s signature moustache. Across his teeth are inscribed the words plataand plomo: the Spanish words for lead and money. It was the offer given by Escobar to police and politicians who stood in his way, “You can take my money or you can take my bullets.” This brutal and effective technique changed Colombia into the drug rich state, ravaged by violence, that it is today.
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Available to purchase online at Artsy: SAC Gallery Bangkok
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