Graduation project
Pharmakon
Holly Zambonini
The medical diagnosis and clinical treatment of grief is explored in a film shot on a miniature set.
Pharmakon is a video installation that explores the biopolitical consequences of medicalizing grief in a post-Covid-19 world. In the aftermath of the pandemic, Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) was added as an official diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), blurring the line between normal grief and pathology. Diagnosed individuals are now participating in clinical trials testing Naltrexone Hydrochloride, a drug originally designed for treating opioid addiction. The film speculates on how the medicalised treatment of grief prioritises the quick transformation of mourners into productive members of society, and subduing the outrage regarding social injustices that may have led to the bereavement. Is this price of transforming a natural human experience to a medical condition worth it?