Caramel

Caramel was born out of the desire to try to understand the different ways of relating to substance use and its effects.

After two years of research, meetings and conversations with people and institutions linked to the subject, it has become clear to us that it is not possible to give an account in a single work of the multiple issues that unfold as we observe the complex world of consumption.

At one extreme, the moralistic and stigmatising gaze marked by the arbitrariness of what is legal and what is not. At the other, the romanticisation of consumption as a reactive option in the face of hegemonic judgement.

But what is going on? What is the question: how can one and the same thing be both liberation and prison? A tool of control of the system and an action of anti-system rebellion.

It is clear that in cases of problematic use, the problem is not the substances, but the relationship that is established with them. And that this relationship will be determined by a combination of various factors such as class, gender or trauma-related injury.

However, when it comes to drugs, the stigma often appears instantly. It is easy to blame the forbidden. But as soon as we look at the list of permitted drugs, miraculously the stigma disappears. We are on the side of good. The law of business, like an animal, marking territory.

But what is going on, what is the question, how can one and the same thing be both liberation and prison? A tool of control of the system and an action of anti-system rebellion.
It is clear that in cases of problematic use, the problem is not the substances, but the relationship that is established with them. And that this relationship will be determined by a combination of various factors such as class, gender or trauma-related injury.

However, when it comes to drugs, stigma is often instantly apparent. It is easy to blame the forbidden. But as soon as we look at the list of permitted drugs, miraculously the stigma disappears. We are on the side of good. The law of business, like an animal, marking territory.

But what if, instead of focusing on the substance, we look at the real danger zone: compulsion? All the actions we do without thinking about whether we feel like it, or even knowing that we don’t feel like it at all.

Where does this docility come from, and what causes it?

Is it not perhaps the capitalist system itself that feeds, promotes and facilitates the confusion between compulsion and desire?

From what you have, what do you need? From what you want, what do you want more of?

It is in the transformation of a desire into a compulsion that the practice of consumption becomes problematic. Is it not a question, then, of seeking to recognise the origin of the compulsive practice in order to deactivate it, instead of prohibiting consumption or stigmatising those who resort to it in search of relief or diversion?

Our wish is for the work to be a question. Neither to silence nor to judge.To try to understand, so that we can take care of ourselves and that it is true.

Pablo Messiez and Las Impuxibles.