Art > Empty Fix Series

While I was the resident artist at a nature reserve in Washington state, I met a young man on the grounds crew who had just been released from prison. When he was in 8th grade, his single mom wanted a way to relate to him, so she shared with him her Oxycontin. He became wildly addicted and was arrested in high school selling drugs to fund his habit. This began my journey across America to understand. I interviewed hundreds of people suffering or recovering from addiction in 24 states. The Empty Fix Project is a seven-installation art series in which I share what they taught me.

Explore the Empty Fix project below:

Addiction is like drowning.

Psychological injury often lies at the core addiction.

Most of us are addicted to something.

Overdose deaths deserve to be mourned.

Healthy, sustained recovery requires counseling, a new community, and a new sense of self. 

People suffering addiction have much to teach us.

No one chooses to get or remain addicted to drugs.